B-
Chicago Bears
A sensible, unshowy class lands the Bears a B-.
by pj_doucette ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 1 steals
· 5 reaches
The Bears torched the value chart for Anthony Lucas, taking him 50 spots sooner than anyone had him slotted.
They banked enough surplus on Muhammad to cover a lot of smaller sins. They will regret leaving interior defensive lineman for another day if the season turns on it. Job largely done: edge rusher settled and 3 of 8 of the wish list covered.
Building through the lines is a philosophy, and they stuck to it.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
Olaivavega Ioane in slot 25 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. A need, and now a little less of one.
A conviction pick on Malachi Lawrence at No. 57 that the board grades a round light. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Anthony Lucas at pick 60 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They reached a country mile for Jaishawn Barham at the 89th pick, and the board is aghast. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Malik Muhammad at pick No. 129 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Tyler Onyedim at Round 7, Pick 23 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Kalil Alexander well ahead of where he belonged. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.