Final roster cuts are on the way. The Chicago Bears are now on the approach to the 2026 NFL season. Even as fans and the media focus on this long-anticipated reality, the organization has also begun preparing for 2027. That means getting started on draft evaluations. Now so much can change in the next several months. Certain players may decide to stay in school. They could get hurt, which would impact their initial draft stock. Also, the Bears’ roster priorities could change depending on who performs well in the upcoming season.
That said, people close to the organization have informed Sports Mockery that the team already has two notable players in mind for next spring. Both of them, unsurprisingly, are edge rushers. The first is South Carolina’s Dylan Stewart, a quick and athletic 6’6″ player coming off a strong season where he finished with 4.5 sacks and 12 tackles for a loss. The other is Colin Simmons, an undersized but deceptively strong demon who’s tortured SEC tackles for two years, with 21 sacks and 29.5 tackles for loss.
The Chicago Bears clearly understand where things stand.
No matter what they say publicly, their defensive line situation is in flux. They just traded Gervon Dexter to Atlanta. Their edge-rusher position is a giant question mark outside of Montez Sweat, who is now in his 30s. Austin Booker hasn’t played a full season healthy. Dayo Odeyingbo is coming off a torn Achilles. Shemar Turner still hasn’t returned from a torn ACL. The Bears have no definitive young option at arguably the most important position on the team behind the quarterback.
That has to change if they’re going to get the defense up to a level that can match their offense. Chicago hasn’t selected an edge rusher in the 1st round since Leonard Floyd in 2016. That decade-long span is the longest in franchise history. Thankfully, Stewart and Simmons appear to be part of a strong 2027 class. With some luck and good evaluation, this problem may finally be solved. That is why the Chicago Bears are getting an early start in the process. They want as much information as possible.
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Will the Bears actually go this route?
Some fans have become skeptical of how devoted this regime is to the defensive line. Poles has never selected one in the 1st round during his tenure as GM. Ben Johnson is an offensive head coach. That side of the ball is his priority, which may put left tackle into the conversation. Truth be told, this will come down to pick placement. Usually, when a team is stuck at the bottom half of the 1st round, as the Bears were this year, it is difficult to find quality pass rushers. Most of them are long gone within the first 15 picks.
The Bears saw it happen in April. Five edge rushers went in the first 23 picks. Rather than reach at the position, they opted to go with Dillon Thieneman, who rated much higher on most boards. The same thing could happen again if they make another deep playoff run. That said, it is highly unlikely the Bears go another full draft without taking an edge rusher. Stewart and Simmons are merely the tip of the iceberg.
