B
Chicago Bears
A sensible, unshowy class lands the Bears a B.
by Navylifer3 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 4 steals
· 1 reaches
The tape said wait; the Bears did not. VJ Payne went at the 129th pick, a good 72 picks before the board was ready. Call it a sensible B, earned the boring way.
The Hill Jr. steal is the beam this whole class leans on. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher.
They went 5 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
Good work on the whole, with edge rusher the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
Sonny Styles slipping to Round 1, Pick 25 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. The roster fit checks out.
No edge and no loss on Christen Miller in the 57th pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Anthony Hill Jr. at slot 60 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Keylan Rutledge in No. 89. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A wild overpay on VJ Payne in pick No. 129, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A minor need, but a need all the same.
They took Noah Whittington at par in pick 239, which is nothing to complain about. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Tyren Montgomery is a better player than slot 241 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.