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Head coach Ben Johnson of the Chicago Bears.
You can count Hall of Fame defensive lineman Dan Hampton among those who were less than impressed with the draft Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson and his front office just had.
Speaking on WGN Radio’s “Hamp & O’B” post-draft podcast alongside longtime co-host Ed O’Bradovich, the 1985 Super Bowl champ ripped the team’s strategy as detached from reality, calling out Chicago’s seven-pick draft for failing to address what he called the most obvious need on the roster: the pass rush.
“Ben Johnson is the reason for this amazing resurgence of the franchise and being able to come out of nowhere last year … and find a way to win it late in the year by beating the Green Bay Packers,” Hampton said, before pointing the finger at the Bears coach.
“Now, all that being said, this draft to me comes under the heading of one word, O’B: Arrogance. There is an arrogance right now that I’m not happy with and I don’t like.”
GettyChicago Bears legend Dan Hampton thinks Ben Johnson’s 2026 draft choices reek of “arrogance.”
Much of Hampton’s frustration seems to be centered on the team’s Day 2 selections. After taking Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman 25th overall Thursday night, the Bears used three consecutive picks on offensive players. They took Iowa center Logan Jones at No. 57, Stanford tight end Sam Roush at No. 69 and LSU receiver Zavion Thomas at No. 89.
The latter two selections in particular resulted in a few raised eyebrows and some straight up ire from the fan base. Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times described the team’s mid-round haul as “confusing,” noting the Bears spent Day 2 drafting a backup center, a third-string tight end and a fourth wide receiver.
The Jones pick is easiest to understand, as ideally, he’ll be the center of the future. But Hampton thinks the team needed to focus more on defense instead.
“Our defense gave us a chance last year,” Hampton added. “They (had) an amazing ability to force teams into turning the ball over. We led the league in interceptions and turnovers. We let our best player on defense, Kevin Byard, walk. We let him walk right out at the front door. … We haven’t had a pass rush since Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks were here. And what’s that been, six years? We are desperate for difference makers on the defensive line. And they don’t grow on trees, O’B. You got to draft it.”
The only defensive lineman taken by the Bears in the draft was Georgia Tech tackle Jordan van den Berg, selected 213th in the sixth round after a trade-up with Buffalo.
Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles defended their Day 2 decisions when speaking to the media at Halas Hall. Poles noted that a run on pass rushers early in Round 2 — five came off the board in the first 13 picks of the round — wiped out their realistic options at edge, while Johnson suggested that the team’s newest additions will help QB Caleb Williams and the offense.
“We’re going to have the ability to go heavy, go 13 personnel, keep a defense in their base structure,” Johnson said on April 25. “Or, we’re going to be able to get a little bit lighter and we’ve got speed on the outside. So, I think it gives us, gives him (Williams) a lot of versatility to work with and we can dictate some terms to the defense and make sure that we’re always attacking.”
If Jones, Roush and Walker all pan out, the criticism from Hampton and others won’t matter. But if there’s a Velus Jones-type bust amongst them, it’ll be a blemish too big to ignore.
Beth Mishler-Elmore Beth Mishler-Elmore is a Heavy sports contributor based in the Midwest, focusing on the NFL, NBA and WNBA. More about Beth Mishler-Elmore
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