Unlike Their Draft Class, Bears Leave No Doubt About Quality of UDFA Signings

Chad Reuter of NFL.com had several of the Chicago Bears' reported undrafted free agent signings ranked among his best available at their positions.

Louisville Cardinals quarterback Miller Moss (7) looks to pass against the California Golden Bears during the first quarter at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images | Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

After the Chicago Bears navigated what was a polarizing 2026 NFL Draft, general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson look to have themselves a strong undrafted free-agent group.

The Bears drew ire from fans and analysts alike for their draft class, with the most common complaint being the lack of a significant addition at edge rusher and interior defensive line.

When it came to analysts, the grades for the Bears' class saw a wide range, ultimately landing the Bears 20th in GPA (grade point average) based on the opinions of those analysts.

Once the draft was over, the Bears turned their focus to inking the players who did not get picked. Based on our undrafted free-agent signings tracker, Chicago has unofficially added 13 rookies

And, of those 13, six landed in the top 12 at their respective positions in the rankings of NFL.com's Chad Reuter.

Here's the rundown:

QB Miller Moss, Louisville: 10
IOL Caden Barnett, Wyoming: 2
IOL Jaren Kump, Utah: 9
DT Jayden Loving, Wake Forest: 12
S Skyler Thomas, Oregon: 3
LS Beau Gardner: 12

Bears UDFA spotlight

Wyoming Cowboys offensive tackle Caden Barnett. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Of that group, we're most intrigued by Barnett, a multi-year starter at Wyoming who can play both guard and tackle. We also love that Barnett's nickname is "Vanilla Gorilla" and we can only hope we get to say that in a game some day.

Our Jerry Markarian pegged Barnett as one of the undrafted free agents who could make the roster.

"Barnett brings a lot of versatility to the offensive line, starting games at both tackle and guard," Markarian wrote. "He's also a good fit for their zone scheme and brings nastiness in the run game (hence the nickname)."

Loving is another intriguing UDFA because of his elite athleticism. The Wake Forest product scored an outstanding 9.93 Relative Athletic Score, which is just bananas for a 6-foot-1, 309-pound defensive lineman.

Loving wasn't the only uber-athletic interior defender the Bears brought in with their rookie class, a sixth-round pick Jordan van den Berg scored a perfect 10 RAS.

Thomas has the potential to be a steal, as Lance Zierlein of NFL.com had him going in the seventh round in his pre-draft projection.

We would also like to highlight Moss, who has a connection to Bears starting quarterback Caleb Williams. Moss actually backed up Williams at USC before taking the reins of the offense in 2024. Moss transferred to Louisville in 2025 and completed 64.2% of his passes for 2,679 yards and 16 touchdowns to seven picks.