Building through the draft is critical for any NFL team to have success. This has been a consistent problem for the Chicago Bears in the past 20 years. Aside from some nice standouts along the way, they haven’t been able to string together multiple good classes. That might finally be changing under general manager Ryan Poles. He landed All-Pro tackle Darnell Wright and solid defensive tackle Gervon Dexter in 2023. A year later, he secured quarterback Caleb Williams. His 2025 class is easily his best yet, at least based on last year, as Colston Loveland, Luther Burden, and Kyle Monangai all shined.
Yet the 2026 class presented the biggest challenge to date. Poles would not have the benefit of a high draft position for the first time. That meant he’d need to be more dialed in than ever to find good players. Early impressions from training camp were inconclusive. Some of his draft choices had some nice moments, but nobody had a truly standout practice yet. That changed on Saturday as not one but two rookies took a big step forward.
The first was tight end Sam Roush.
It’s clear that the 3rd round pick showed everybody that his reputation as a blocker-only player was overblown. He has legitimate pass catching skills. Not to be outdone, 4th round pick Malik Muhammad had himself a day at nickel cornerback with Kyler Gordon still absent.
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The Chicago Bears rookie class is stepping up.
Roush looking that sharp isn’t a huge surprise. He’s a 3rd round pick who went to Stanford. His intelligence was never in question. Plus, he has no pressure on him with Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet getting most of the attention at tight end. Still, knowing he can be a legitimate threat beyond blocking just makes this offense more dangerous. The bigger story is Muhammad. Chicago’s secondary has taken a beating in camp. Kyler Gordon was already out to start. Now Coby Bryant will miss two months with a knee injury. If that weren’t bad enough, Cam Lewis left Saturday’s practice on a cart.
The Bears needed somebody to step up. Despite limited experience playing at nickel corner, Muhammad seems to have grasped it quickly. Every day, it gets easier seeing why the team liked him so much. All of this goes without mentioning Jordan Van Den Berg. The 6th round defensive tackle was already making noise in 1-on-1 drills over the past few days. He’s made such a strong impression that coaches have begun working him in with the starters during scrimmages.
Don’t worry about the other guys.
Dillon Thieneman might not be getting tons of buzz lately, but the 1st round pick hasn’t been silent. He made some really nice plays in practice, showcasing more of his trademark range and instincts. The problem is that he’s been matched up with Loveland a lot, which hasn’t ended well. Logan Jones is situated as the team’s backup center with Garrett Bradbury as the starter. That leaves wide receiver Zavion Thomas. Despite being on a crowded depth chart, the 3rd round pick is flashing his unique speed, along with improving route-running.
There is no telling what will happen with the Chicago Bears’ 2026 draft class. Not until they actually get opportunities to play in real games. That said, it’s looking more and more like this group is not intimidated by the NFL. They took their early licks in camp and have begun fighting back. Their confidence and comfort are clearly growing. If this carries over into September and beyond, the team could take another step forward in their pursuit of a Super Bowl.
