The Chicago Bears didn’t get much praise for their 2026 draft class after the festivities ended on Saturday. They didn’t much derision either. People just seemed to overlook it entirely. General manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson explained afterward that they felt they had assembled a group of players who fit the team’s DNA. They were tough, athletic, smart, and completely devoted to the game of football. They were right about one thing. Chicago’s class ranked #1 in athleticism according to Next Gen Stats.
Still, most people just shrug when they look at the group. Matt Miller of ESPN is not one of them. The high-profile draft expert made a bold proclamation in a recent column that should catch everybody’s attention.
“Miller: The 2026 class will be the one that puts the Bears over the top and into a Super Bowl. Quarterback Caleb Williams is the main reason for the Bears’ success, but adding safety Dillon Thieneman and cornerback Malik Muhammad satisfies huge needs in the secondary, while center Logan Jones will be Williams’ new best friend and bodyguard.”
That is pretty high praise. Miller hasn’t been shy about his love of Thieneman. He said after the 1st round concluded that it was the best pick of the night. Most agree that Malik Muhammad was an excellent value pick who should’ve gone earlier than the 4th round, representing the right mix of height, length, and athleticism for press coverage. As for Jones, ESPN’s expert panel agreed he was the best center in the class.
This Chicago Bears take isn’t crazy.
Sometimes it’s the less celebrated draft classes that end up laying the foundation of a champion. Most people believe the Kansas City Chiefs’ dynasty was built with the 2013 and 2017 classes when they secured tight end Travis Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Few people had high praise for the 2016 class. That was the year Kansas City traded out of the 1st round entirely. There wasn’t much value in the picks they had. It just so happened that was the year they selected Chris Jones and Tyreek Hill.
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The Chicago Bears experienced the same. Most credit the 1983 class with the team’s Super Bowl win in 1985. While a fair assessment, it’s too easy to look past the 1984 class that followed it. There is almost no fanfare for that year despite the team adding linebacker Wilber Marshall and defensive back Shaun Gayle. Both men were crucial to that playoff run the next year. Gayle scored a pivotal special teams touchdown in the win over New York in the divisional round, while Marshall scored the game-sealing touchdown against the Rams in the NFC Championship. Both became Pro Bowlers.
Time will tell with this class.
Judging a group right after the draft is never wise. There is no predicting how things will go. That said, nobody can say the Bears’ process was bad. Positional value aside, most experts agree the team landed quality players at almost every pick. Thieneman was widely considered the #2 safety in the entire draft. Jones was the #1 or #2 center. Many had Sam Roush as a top-three tight end. Linebacker Keyshaun Elliot had a ton of fans in the scouting community. It sounds like the Bears got several good football players.
More than that, it feels like there was a clear plan with all of them. Thieneman is a perfect complement to Coby Bryant in the secondary with his mixture of coverage and run defense. Jones is an ideal fit for the outside-zone run scheme Johnson utilizes on offense. Roush is the best run-blocking tight end in the class and better than Durham Smythe was. Thomas provides a speed element that was missing last year, both on offense and special teams. Elliott has the instincts and attacking style Dennis Allen loves in linebackers, while Jordan Van Den Berg is the type of explosive interior rusher his defense requires.
It is a talented class that fits the team perfectly. Miller might be onto something.
