Pinpointing the Chicago Bears‘ target in the 1st round of the 2026 NFL draft is difficult. A big part of the problem is how far back they’re sitting. Being towards the bottom of the 1st round at #25 overall makes it almost impossible to project who will be available when they go on the clock. It involves a lot of guesswork. As we’ve seen many times in the draft, there will be big surprises. So rather than focus endlessly on that, it might be best to look at this from the Bears’ point of view.
It felt like there was a significant shift in the team’s priorities during the 2025 draft, no doubt created by the arrival of head coach Ben Johnson and his staff. So perhaps the best thing to do was to go back and look at the class to see if there was an underlying trait that connected each player. That can be difficult since so many different positions were addressed. However, after digging into their scouting reports, one prominent word kept emerging every time you read about them.
Polish.
The Chicago Bears want players who already know what they’re doing
The term “pro-ready” gets thrown around a lot. In truth most draft prospects aren’t actually pro-ready. That said, there is a select group of them who are further along in understanding the intricacies of the position they play compared to others. These are guys who won’t require extensive coaching to better learn their craft before gettin an opportunity to play. The odds of said player being productive go up if it’s apparent he understands his responsibilities. You saw that show up for every Bears pick in the 1st and 2nd rounds last year.
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Colston Loveland
“Capable of running the entire route tree over all three levels. Wins quickly versus press and eludes redirects in space to keep patterns on time. Good feel for leveraging defenders out of the break point. Able to snap off speed cuts at crisp angles to separate.”
Luther Burden
“Stacks, tracks and adjusts to deep balls like an outfielder. Operates with sudden, well-timed hands. Plucks throws cleanly and away from his frame.”
Ozzy Trapilo
“Attention to the B-gap makes him hard to beat on twists. Accurate hands and good arm extension keep rusher out of his chest. Stays connected at the top of the rush with balance and hand resets. Able to uncoil his lower half and access a firm anchor when challenged. Accurate hands, good positioning and sturdy base on kick-out blocks.”
Shemar Turner
“Power and leverage to punch and tilt blocker at the point. Neverending series of slaps and counters during his rush. Works to find rush openings with active hands and feet.”
As you can see, the trend is pretty consistent. Each player had varying levels of athletic gifts, as is often the case with early and later draft picks. Even so, it is apparent that the Bears targeted all of them, in part, because they had clearly shown a respect and passion for the game by working on their fundamentals and technique. In retrospect, that shouldn’t be a big surprise, given that the head coach has the most personnel authority in the organization. Johnson doesn’t want to build guys up from scratch.
This knowledge may help pinpoint actual Chicago Bears targets.
Remember, it isn’t about the biggest names. Loveland wasn’t. He’d been overshadowed by Tyler Warren for months going into last year’s draft. It is about fit. Johnson wants a polished player who is a good athlete and loves football. After searching through several potential prospects that could be available at #25, here are five names that popped out. All of them have similar assessments regarding their overall game that mirror what the 2025 class had said about them last April.
Caleb Lomu (OT, Utah)
“Activates hands with good quickness in both phases. Core strength to keep from having his pads rattled on contact. Pass sets with good posture, rarely ducking head and leaning. Uses different punch approaches and times them well to maximize his length. Shows ability to gather and control rushers with strong grip. Sifts through games/blitzes and responds with no panic.”
Jordyn Tyson (WR, Arizona State)
“Able to play every receiver spot on the field. Plays with ideal suddenness and cut quickness underneath.
Routes are smooth and manipulative to induce leverage. Stems routes suddenly, leaving man coverage temporarily stranded. Digs hard on posts to gain ground before looking for the ball.”
Kayden McDonald (DT, Ohio State)
“Uses leverage to pierce gaps and disrupt play design. Excellent run-game recognition from early in the snap. Fights to maintain run fits against wide zone blocking schemes. Plays around blocks with his eyes to locate and track ball-carriers. Makes accurate shed choices to defend both gaps.”
Malachi Lawrence (EDGE, UCF)
“Rarely repeats rush sequencing or entry angles in a series. Easy to lose count of his go-to moves and counters. Explosive take-offs matched by explosive close-outs. Sudden feet allow him to bounce inside quickly against over-sets. Bypasses protection with a flurry of deft hand usage.”
Jalon Kilgore (S, South Carolina)
“Can stall tight ends and big slot receivers from press. Rangy zone cover man with good vision and anticipation. Closes quickly and lands a heavy blow on receivers after the catch. Swallows receiver with long arms and full wrap when making a tackle.”
The draft is always unpredictable. Certain players go way earlier and way later than expected. There is also the chance that the Chicago Bears decided to move up or down the board. That would change the possible list of names they could be looking at. However, as things stand, if they stay at #25, these five players exhibit the right mix of athleticism and polish that this team seems to covet. They might not be the hottest names going around lately, but neither were the guys Chicago drafted last year. That still worked out pretty well.
