Chicago Bears
The Bears Drafted Seven Players Onto the Deepest Roster They’ve Had
Chicago went into the 2026 draft with one of the deepest rosters in franchise history and came out with seven players who mostly have to fight their way onto it. That’s a good problem, and it’s why cutdown day was painful rather than obvious.
Here’s who arrived, and who actually has a path.
Dillon Thieneman, S — No. 25, Oregon
The player. Chicago used its first-round pick on a safety, in a round otherwise dominated by offensive linemen — nine went in the first 32 selections.
The situation. Thieneman lands in a secondary that led the NFL with 33 takeaways and 23 interceptions last season, and that’s the tension. Chicago finished 23rd in scoring defense, 29th in total defense and tied for 22nd in sacks despite all those turnovers. The unit lives on splash plays, and takeaways are the least repeatable statistic in football.
Thieneman was drafted to help the underlying numbers catch up to the turnover luck, which is a harder assignment than it sounds.
Playing time projection. Immediate starter or heavy rotation. First-round safeties on a defense with this profile play.
Logan Jones, C — No. 57, Iowa
The most interesting Bear in the class. Jones is the reigning Rimington Trophy winner and arrived into an open competition with veteran Garrett Bradbury, who Chicago acquired by trade from New England.
Ben Johnson confirmed the competition during camp. Whoever wins the job in September, the succession plan isn’t subtle: this is Jones’ position for 2027 and beyond.
Playing time projection. Starter or first man up. Watch how quickly the coaching staff trusts him with line calls — that’s the tell.
Sam Roush, TE — No. 69, Stanford
A third-round tight end on a roster that already has Colston Loveland, who led the team in receiving as a rookie and had a dominant camp.
Johnson’s offense is built to use multiple tight ends in a way most schemes aren’t, which means Roush isn’t blocked so much as queued.
Playing time projection. Situational, with real snaps in multi-tight-end sets.
Zavion Thomas, WR — No. 89, LSU
The receiver room changed shape with D.J. Moore gone. Rome Odunze is the established No. 1, Luther Burden III is competing for a larger role, and Thomas is behind both.
Playing time projection. Depth and return duties, where the path to snaps is shortest.
Malik Muhammad, CB — No. 124, Texas
A fourth-round corner arriving into a genuinely crowded room. Jaylon Johnson leads the group, Tyrique Stevenson remains a significant contributor, and Kyler Gordon’s return from PUP has no firm timeline — which is exactly the kind of uncertainty that creates rookie opportunity.
Playing time projection. Depth, with a path if Gordon’s absence extends.
Two camp-battle picks
Keyshaun Elliott, LB — No. 166, Arizona State and Jordan Van Den Berg, DT — No. 213, Georgia Tech round out the class. Both are camp-battle picks on a roster where depth is the whole point.
Around the NFC North
Fernando Mendoza, QB — Las Vegas Raiders (No. 1). The class headline. Mendoza went from unknown in August 2025 to Heisman winner and national champion at Indiana to first overall — the first Hoosier taken in round one since 1994. He opened camp behind Kirk Cousins, so the preseason has been his only real evaluation.
Blake Miller, OT — Detroit Lions (No. 17). An NFC North matter. Detroit also took Michigan edge rusher Derrick Moore at No. 44 and Michigan linebacker Jimmy Rolder at 118 — a deliberate local pipeline on a team the Bears have to beat twice.
Brandon Cisse, CB — Green Bay Packers (No. 52). Green Bay’s most notable draft addition, in a year when the Packers’ bigger story is Micah Parsons opening camp on the physically unable to perform list after tearing his knee last December. Chicago’s best chance to bank division wins is early, while he’s out.
The competition that matters in September
The center competition. Everything else in this class is depth on a roster that already had it — but the Bradbury-Jones battle decides who snaps the ball to Caleb Williams in a season where Chicago is defending a division title.
Thieneman is the pick that matters long-term. Jones is the one that matters in September.
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