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The Chicago Bears drafted Oregon Ducks defensive back Dillon Thieneman wit the 25th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Many were surprised that the Chicago Bears failed to address the defensive line until their final pick of the 2026 NFL Draft. According to Pro Football Focus, the Bears hosted the eighth-worst pass rush unit last season. For a team looking to build off their breakout season, it’s surprising that they didn’t address perhaps their biggest weakness.
General manager Ryan Poles addressed the criticism the team has faced, stating, “We followed the board. To go into a draft and just start picking at your needs, hopping around the board … that doesn’t play out very well over the long haul.”
Attention to the long-term future appears to be the main reason the Bears neglected to address the issue right now. In fact, based on how Poles and the front office set up the contracts of their defensive line, Chicago could enter a massive reset in 2027.
There could be a MAJOR D-line reset upcoming for Chicago next season. These players are owed ZERO dollars after this year: #DaBears Austin Booker Montez Sweat Dayo Odeyingbo Grady Jarrett Gervon Dexter (FA) Neville Gallimore Kentavious Street (FA) Daniel Hardy
According to Chicago Bears analyst Ben Devine, eight players on the Bears’ defensive line “are owed ZERO dollars after this year: Austin Booker, Montez Sweat, Day Odeyingbo, Grady Jarrett, Gervon Dexter (FA), Neville Gallimore, Kentavious Street (FA), and Daniel Hardy.”
Shemar Turner is the only current Bears defensive lineman who will be owed any money in 2027.
That means that pretty much the entire defensive line is on a one-year prove-it deal this season.
It also means Chicago will have significantly more money to play with in 2027 after having the seventh-least cap space this season. With a potential Caleb Williams contract looming, they will need the additional money to maintain the bulk of their roster.
GettyCenter Drew Dalman played all 17 games for the Chicago Bears in his lone season with the team.
One of the main reasons Bears fans were surprised by the lack of help for the defensive line was how involved Chicago was in the Maxx Crosby sweepstakes. The Bears were consistently linked in potential trade conversations to Crosby for weeks before he eventually landed and then un-landed with the Baltimore Ravens. It appeared that Chicago was determined to add a massive presence to anchor their line, so it was assumed that they would then address it in the draft.
Ben Devine suggested on X that the Bears pivot from addressing the edge via trade may have been a byproduct of center Drew Dalman’s surprise retirement.
“It’s quite probable the Bears plans to address on the D-line this offseason were altered with the Dalman retirement,” Devine wrote. “The biggest trade to acquire someone was for Garrett Bradbury, coupled with drafting Logan Jones at pick 57, and offense takes priority now.”
The Bears now find themselves essentially running it back with most of the same group from last year. Despite the lack of change, both Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson have expressed optimism in the unit moving forward.
GettyShemar Turner made the transition from defensive tackle to defensive end during his rookie season with the Chicago Bears before tearing his ACL in Week 8 of the 2025 season.
Following the draft, Poles showed confidence in the current state of the d-line, stating, “At the defensive line position, Book’s coming along with Dayo, Sweat, Shemar. “We feel good about those guys. … [I] like what that group is and what they’re becoming, and we feel like there is some developmental upside, and like I said yesterday, with Year 2 in the system, we should be able to take the next step.”
Ben Johnson highlighted defensive ends Shemar Turner and Dayo Odeyingbo as players who both ended the season hurt, but he’s excited to see them return to the field. “We were excited about the guys that ended up finishing the season on IR, the trajectory that they were on…When you look at it from the start of the season to the point where they both got injured, we saw growth and we saw them trending in the right direction, in terms of what we want to see on game day.”
The Bears are banking on development for the 2026 season over pre-established talent. It’s a risky move for a team hoping to go on a Super Bowl run, but it could pay off in a big way for next season and beyond if it all works out.
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