By SRN Broadcasting · April 25, 2026
The Chicago Bears emerged from the 2026 NFL Draft with seven new players, led by by Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman, and we present a final SRN composite grade of C+. GM Ryan Poles ignored edge rusher, defensive tackle and offensive tackle until his sixth-round pick, betting on Year 2 development under head coach Ben Johnson.
Chicago Bears 2026 Draft Picks at a Glance
| Round | Pick | Player | Pos. | School | ESPN | Composite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | Dillon Thieneman | S | Oregon | 88 (B+) | B+/A− |
| 2 | 57 | Logan Jones | C | Iowa | 69 (D+) | C/C+ |
| 3 | 69 | Sam Roush | TE | Stanford | 77 (C+) | C/C+ |
| 3 | 89 | Zavion Thomas | WR | LSU | 46 (F) | D+/D |
| 4 | 124 | Malik Muhammad | CB | Texas | 80 (B) | B− |
| 5 | 166 | Keyshaun Elliott | LB | Arizona State | 45 (F) | D |
| 6 | 213 | Jordan van den Berg | DT | Georgia Tech | 42 (F) | D+ |
| SRN Final Composite Grade | C+ | |||||
Composite grades draw from ESPN (Mel Kiper), CBS Sports (Mike Renner / Pete Prisco), the Chicago Tribune (Brad Biggs), the Chicago Sun-Times (Patrick Finley) and The Athletic (Kevin Fishbain & Dan Wiederer). “We stuck to the board,” Poles told reporters Friday. “It’s hard to go into a draft and just start picking at your needs and letting all the good guys go by.”
Round 1 Pick: Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon (No. 25)
The Bears’ first safety taken in Round 1 since Mark Carrier in 1990, Dillon Thieneman was Dane Brugler’s 18th-rated player overall and his top-rated safety. Poles called him a “violent football player” whose tape made him an easy box to check. “There’s speed and then there’s violent speed in terms of just the explosion off the spot,” Poles said. “That’s what he brings.”
Chicago Bears Director of College Scouting Breck Ackley said the room was on edge waiting to see if Thieneman would slide. He did. Ben Johnson didn’t even need to speak. “I can now feel Ben,” Poles said. “He doesn’t have to say anything.”
Thieneman ran a 4.35, posted 18 reps on the bench and jumped 41 inches at the combine. He intercepted six balls as a freshman at Purdue, earned second-team All-America honors at Oregon, and finished college with 306 tackles. He’ll start opposite free-agent prize Coby Bryant from Day 1. “I really do think he’s going to be one of those few rare safety types that coordinators are going to have to account for,” Johnson said.
Thieneman Composite Grade: B+/A−
ESPN (Kiper): 88 (B+) · CBS Sports: Praised as immediate starter · Chicago Tribune (Biggs): Positive · Chicago Sun-Times (Finley): Likes the player, questions positional priority · The Athletic (Fishbain): A+
Round 2 Pick: Logan Jones, C, Iowa (No. 57)
This is the pick that drew the loudest groans nationally and the warmest welcome inside Halas Hall. Logan Jones is a 6-3, 299-pound Rimington Award winner with short arms (30 ¾) and elite athleticism for the position: a 4.90 40, a 705-pound squat and 51 career starts at Iowa after flipping over from defensive tackle. He’ll learn behind veteran Garrett Bradbury and, in all likelihood, take the job in 2027.
Director of Player Personnel Trey Koziol called Jones a “cerebral player” with “grown man pro-ready habits.” Johnson said the staff was “really smitten” with him: “The mental is top notch. We saw all the traits that we’re looking for, whether it’s the run game or in pass-pro.”
Jones, 25, was asked what the biggest jump to the NFL would be, he didn’t hesitate. “The playbook,” he said. “Seems there’s a little bit more on the center’s plate here, which is exciting.”
Jones Composite Grade: C/C+
ESPN (Kiper): 69 (D+) liked the player, hated the round · CBS Sports (Renner): D+ · Chicago Tribune (Biggs): Lukewarm · Chicago Sun-Times (Finley): Skeptical, wanted defensive help · The Athletic (Wiederer): B+
Round 3 Pick: Sam Roush, TE, Stanford (No. 69)
Drafting a third tight end behind Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet seemed a little odd. Then you remember the Bears ran the fifth-most snaps in the NFL out of 13 personnel last year, that Durham Smythe walked in free agency, and that the head coach used to coach the position. Suddenly, Sam Roush makes more sense.
The 6-6, 267-pound Stanford captain (nephew of Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen) is a finisher in the run game with enough juice to be a real threat underneath. Johnson’s read on the tape was specific: “He’s a finisher through the whistle. It didn’t matter who he was blocking, could be a big guy, could be a little DB, and he consistently finished through the whistle each and every play.” A text from one of Roush’s Stanford coaches sealed it: “He will crush himself to do whatever he can to help the football team.”
Roush fir the bill of a Ben Johnson player. On camera he said, “Blocking’s a huge part of my identity,” he said. “I love getting in the trench with [the offensive line] and getting dirty.” Pure positional value? It’s a stretch when defensive line, edge and tackle were on the board. Pure scheme fit? Maybe the cleanest match of the weekend.
Roush Composite Grade: C/C+
ESPN (Kiper): 77 (C+) · CBS Sports (Renner): Liked it, called the Bears the best run-blocking tight end trio in the league · Chicago Tribune (Biggs): Skeptical · Chicago Sun-Times (Finley): Critical, ignored bigger needs · The Athletic (Dochterman): D+
Round 3 Pick: Zavion Thomas, WR, LSU (No. 89)
The headline number is 4.28, among the fastest 40s at this year’s combine and the kind of speed that, in Johnson’s words, “doesn’t grow on trees.” Assistant director of college scouting Francis Saint Paul said Johnson started doing his trademark rocking motion the first time the staff watched Zavion Thomas’s tape. “This guy is going to be a weapon,” Saint Paul said. “This kid is special with the ball in his hands.” Thomas projects first as a returner under the new kickoff rules and as with the loss of receivers DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus, he will be a backup behind Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III and Kalif Raymond.
Thomas Composite Grade: D+/D
ESPN (Kiper): 46 (F), the lowest grade ESPN gave any Bears pick, suggesting he was a seventh rounder on their board. CBS Sports: Speed-and-traits flier · Chicago Tribune: Loves the speed, questions the round · Chicago Sun-Times (Finley): Bigger reach than Roush · The Athletic (Dochterman): C
Bears 2026 Day 3 Picks: Defense, Finally
After three offensive Day 2 picks, the Bears flipped the script Saturday. All three Day 3 selections came on the defensive side, and Poles got more aggressive than usual to land them, trading up twice.
Round 4: Malik Muhammad, CB, Texas (No. 124)
A 4.42 corner with the length Dennis Allen and Al Harris covet. “I’m an all-around DB, not just a cornerback,” Malik Muhammad said. “I can play inside, I can play nickel. Man, zone, pattern match, true zone. I can blitz.” He provides depth behind a corner trio that combined for too many missed games last year, and could push for a starting role in 2027 if Tyrique Stevenson walks. ESPN: 80 (B). Composite: B−.
Round 5: Keyshaun Elliott, LB, Arizona State (No. 166)
Wore the green dot at Arizona State and won the school’s “Iron Devil” weight-room award multiple times. Coverage questions are real, but West Coast scout Reese Hicks projected him as “a core four guy” on special teams. Models his game after 49ers LB Fred Warner. ESPN: 45 (F). Composite: D.
Round 6: Jordan van den Berg, DT, Georgia Tech (No. 213)
The one defensive lineman of the weekend, born in Johannesburg and the grandson of a five-time Mr. South Africa. Set the all-time Penn State squat record before transferring to Georgia Tech. National scout Brendan Rehor said the coaching staff “had been pounding the table” for him, enough that Poles traded up to grab him in the sixth. He also owns a laundromat that does wash-and-fold work for homeless shelters. ESPN: 42 (F). Composite: D+
Final Verdict: SRN Composite Grade for the Bears’ 2026 Draft
The split between the Halas Hall war room and the national grade-givers was wider than usual. ESPN handed out three failing grades on Day 3 (Thomas 46, Elliott 45, van den Berg 42), the lowest cluster the Bears have absorbed under Poles. The rest of the league saw reaches. The Bears were chasing specific fits and didn’t appear to care who agreed.
One truth holds: Poles got the player he most wanted in Round 1, the player his offensive staff most wanted in Round 2, and the player his head coach most wanted in Round 3. The bet is that Year 2 in Johnson’s system pulls more from Sweat, Booker, Odeyingbo and Turner than any rookie edge rusher would have. If it does, this draft looks excellent in 18 months. If it doesn’t, the questions about why Chicago kept feeding the offense while the run defense ranked 27th won’t go away.
SRN Final Composite Grade: C+. Big swing on Thieneman, scheme-perfect on Day 2, light on the defensive trenches where the Bears most needed help. As Ben Johnson said when it was over: “We found guys that fit our DNA.” The next step is finding out whether that DNA is enough to take down the NFC North a second straight year.
Note on grades: ESPN scored each pick on a 0-100 scale (90+ = A, 80–89 = B, 70–79 = C, 60–69 = D, <60 = F). The Athletic published explicit letter grades for picks 1-4. CBS Sports’ Mike Renner published a D+ for Logan Jones. The Chicago Tribune (Biggs) and Chicago Sun-Times (Finley) wrote analytical pieces rather than letter grades; their entries reflect the tone of those pieces. Composite grades are SRN Broadcasting’s synthesis. Claude also assisted with this story.
