The Chicago Bears didn’t get much high praise for their work on day two of the draft last week. That meant they needed a good day three or they risked severe backlash from fans and media, justified or not. Thankfully, things got started off right in the 4th round. Needing help on defense, they managed to land Texas cornerback Malik Muhammad. Experts were surprised he’d fallen that far, having earned high marks leading up to the event. One would think he was thrilled to get selected.

Not based on recent evidence. A video surfaced of Muhammad at his home, reacting to Chicago picking him. While friends and family celebrated, the cornerback sat on his couch, his expression stoic. He did not look happy. Some wondered if he didn’t want to go to Chicago. As a native of Dallas, Texas, it’s possible he was angry that his hometown Cowboys had taken a cornerback earlier in the round (Devin Moore from Florida) over him. It’s worth noting Muhammad was rated far above Moore leading up to the draft. Or perhaps he was just upset he fell as far as he did

Malik Muhammad was quick to respond.

Most draft prospects would try to avoid such a controversy and keep their head down until training camp. Not the rookie cornerback. Once the video started circulating on social media, he decided to clear things up with a statement. He indicated that his reaction had nothing to do with playing for the Bears. As far as he’s concerned, this is a dream come true for him. He is immensely grateful to the organization for giving him the opportunity and intends to take full advantage of the opportunity.

One of the reasons the Bears loved Muhammad while scouting him was his maturity. They felt he carried himself like somebody far beyond his years. That is reflected in this response. He could’ve just dodged the issue, saying it was no big deal. Instead, he clarified that he is fully dedicated to the Bears. The video showed him wrestling with several emotions. Sometimes people don’t know how to respond at first. It was a huge moment in his life. It doesn’t change the fact that he lands in a great spot.

Muhammad has all the motivation he needs.

Maybe it was falling as far as he did. Maybe it was the Cowboys’ passing on him. It wouldn’t be the first time that scenario played out. Randy Moss expected Dallas to take him in 1998, but they passed. He fell all the way to the 20s that year, feeling insulted. He proceeded to deliver one of the best rookie seasons in NFL history. Obviously, Malik Muhammad is not Moss, but the circumstances are the same. His talent did not justify a fall of that magnitude. This player was instrumental in Texas reaching the national championship game in 2024.

What on earth convinced teams that he wasn’t worth a higher pick? Muhammad will stew over that question for months to come. By the time he reaches training camp at the end of July, he’ll be practically frothing at the mouth to get on the field and start working. That will suit the Bears just fine. Getting a motivated player only makes their job easier. If Al Harris and Dennis Allen are as capable as they’ve shown to be, Muhammad may not need long to push for a starting job.

Ryan Poles has now been the general manager of the Chicago Bears for five offseasons. In that time, he has not spent a 1st round pick on a defensive lineman. Not once. That is a distinction no other Bears GM holds. Ryan Pace took his in year two. Phil Emery took his in year one. Jerry Angelo took his in year three. It felt like a long-standing tradition for a Bears general manager to use a top draft choice on that position group. Poles has instead focused on beefing up the offense for most of his time. Dillon Thieneman became his first defensive pick this year, and he’s a safety.

To date, he has used six draft picks on defensive linemen. Four of them have come from outside the first two rounds. None has managed to produce a season of eight or more sacks. It has led to several recriminations from fans and media that Poles is guilty of passing up way too many opportunities to bolster a critical part of the roster. I was curious if this is true or not. So I did some research. Here is what I found, with some key notes.

• I restricted the search to the first two rounds. Most agree that picking beyond that is a crapshoot.

• I’m covering every Bears pick and then pinpointing defensive line options who went within ten spots after each one. I felt this was a wide enough buffer to identify players who would’ve been reasonable alternatives before getting into the realm of unrealistic reach. Hindsight must be left out of this.

Is Ryan Poles guilty? Yes, to a minor degree.

Based on the available data, there was one specific instance in which Poles probably had a stronger case for going with a defensive lineman over his eventual choice. That was in 2024 when taking Odunze with the 9th overall pick. Latu, Murphy, and Verse have all become highly effective pass rushers over the past two years. Latu had 8.5 sacks last season. Verse had 7.5 and 27 QB hits. Murphy won the Super Bowl in Seattle. Though Odunze has had some good stretches in the past two years, he has also been plagued by drops and health problems.

Poles has missed opportunities, but also hasn’t had many.

The harsh truth of it is that the Bears haven’t really been in a great spot to take defensive linemen since Ryan Poles arrived. He had no 1st round pick in 2022, which wouldn’t have mattered because the best options that year (Travon Walker, Aidan Hutchinson, and Kayvon Thibodeaux) were all gone before they would’ve gone on the clock. The next year, he could’ve taken Jalen Carter at #9 overall, but everybody knew about his personal issues. It was too big a risk for a rebuilding team. Poles ended up landing an All-Pro tackle anyway.

There was no way he was passing on a quarterback at #1 overall in 2024. A year later, the best options (Abdul Carter and Mason Graham) were gone before the Bears picked. This year? Five edge rushers were off the board before they went on the clock. The harsh truth is that Poles just don’t have enough chances to take a swing at a defensive lineman early. Even during the one time he arguably should’ve, he had a reasonable justification to prioritize getting his new quarterback another weapon.

Due to this hard luck, Poles has tried to make it up with veteran moves.

His trade for Montez Sweat has proven to be a good one. He has 22.5 sacks in 44 games since coming over from Washington. While not a superstar, he is certainly a worthwhile addition. It’s been free agency where Poles has failed to make a significant impact. Most of his notable signings, like Al-Quadin Muhammad, Dayo Odeyingbo, and Grady Jarrett, failed to move the needle. Andrew Billings and DeMarcus Walker were solid role players, but not impact guys. Thus, here is where the Bears sit.

They’re saddled with too many expensive contracts to take another swing at the veteran market. As a result, they’re left hoping that incumbents like Austin Booker and Shemar Turner can take a big step forward this season. Maybe rookie 6th round pick Jordan Van Den Berg can contribute too. Not ideal. The hard truth is that this problem stems from a mixture of bad circumstances, one questionable pick, and poor pro scouting. Poles does deserve some criticism for the state of things, but it can’t all be placed on him.

The Chicago Bears took Logan Jones of Iowa in the 2nd round of the 2026 draft. Some felt that was too early, believing the soon-to-be 25-year-old should’ve gone a little later. Head coach Ben Johnson didn’t care. He’d been “smitten” with Jones for a long time and felt he was a perfect fit for the Bears’ offense and locker room. ESPN draft insider Matt Miller agrees. He is a big fan of Jones as a prospect. He even went so far as to say there are significant shades of former All-Pro Jason Kelce.

He explained his reasoning on 104.3 The Score.

Obviously, people will call that crazy. The Philadelphia Eagles legend was one-of-a-kind. Except no, he wasn’t. People forget Kelce was a 6th round pick. He just happened to land in the perfect situation to showcase his greatest strengths. If you line him and Jones up, the similarities run deeper than you think. They had the same exact athleticism score from NFL.com (86). Then you look at their measurables. The size, speed, and agility numbers are pretty close, further validating Miller’s assessment.

Jason Kelce dropped into a great situation like Jones has.

He was drafted in 2011, during the final years of head coach Andy Reid. Getting to learn from a future Hall of Famer set the tone for Kelce’s rise from late-round pick to starter. He also got to work with legendary offensive line coach Howard Mudd, which further helped his prospects. It will be much the same for Jones. He will fall under the guidance of Johnson, one of the NFL’s brightest young offensive minds, who just turned Drew Dalman into a Pro Bowler last season. In addition, he’ll work directly with offensive line coach Dan Roushar, considered one of the best in the business.

Jones may not fit everywhere in the NFL, but he doesn’t have to. He just needed to find the right situation where the team would know how to handle him. That has happened. This offensive system is tailor-made for his skill set, and this coaching staff will put him in situations that utilize his strengths. There is a reason he sounded so fired up when the Bears called during the draft. He knew the possibilities in front of him, much like Kelce probably did when the Eagles called 15 years ago.

Jones doesn’t have to be the next Kelce.

If he is even 70% of what the future Hall of Famer became in Philadelphia, the Bears’ offense just took a massive step forward. Remember, this team has operated with average-to-below-average centers for the better part of the past 15 years. Cody Whitehair and Dalman are the only two who gave them some quality play, and that didn’t last long. Whitehair regressed shortly after his best season, and Dalman abruptly retired at age 27. Jones is the highest-drafted center the Bears have taken since Olin Kreutz. Whitehair was originally a guard, as was James Daniels.

The only question left to answer is how long it will be before Jones gets onto the field. Chicago made it sound like the plan is for veteran Garrett Bradbury to hold the starting job this season. It makes sense since Johnson prefers having someone experienced in the middle. However, there is an undercurrent of belief that if the door is left open, Jones could win the starting job in training camp. That would be another thing he’d share with Jason Kelce, who did the same with the Eagles.

Dillon Thieneman became the first safety in 36 years to be drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 1st round. Of course, Mark Carrier was taken 6th overall in 1990. That’s a considerable gap from 25th overall. However, times have changed. The NFL has begun viewing safety as a non-premium position. That suggests it doesn’t have the same impact as others like cornerback and pass rusher. In reality, the reason for the downturn is that safeties are difficult to scout and carry a higher risk than other positions. Yet the Bears could not, in good conscience, pass on someone with his talent.

Several experts felt the team had managed a considerable steal. Most projected Thieneman to go anywhere from #12 to #18. So for him to fall that far was unexpected. What many people want to know is whether he can be a difference-maker for this defense. Oregon defensive coordinator Chris Hampton was asked about that on 104.3 The Score. He was not passive in his comments about Thieneman, calling him the total package and a future perennial All-Pro at the position.

Hampton’s comments on Dillon Thieneman aren’t just fluff.

It is often natural for a coach to talk up his player, but they rarely go as far as Hampton. That is probably because he speaks from a place of greater understanding than most. For one, he played safety in college, spending four years at South Carolina. He shared the field with some pretty good defensive backs, including Captain Munnerlyn. Then he transitioned to coaching, becoming a prominent defensive backs coach at several stops, including Duke, Tulane, and, eventually, Oregon.

He speaks from a place of deep understanding of the position. So for him to say Thieneman is that good, you should pay attention. After all, he is the only Oregon safety in history to be selected in the 1st round. That is over guys like T.J. Ward and Jevon Holland. Pretty good company. If Thieneman is on that same level or even above it, the Bears will have their first true star at safety since the early Mike Brown years. Considering how big his impact was, that is a pretty significant deal.

The best Bears defenses always had great safeties.

This is the part of the lore that everybody tends to gloss over. We all remember Bill George, Doug Atkins, Mike Singletary, Dan Hampton, Brian Urlacher, and Lance Briggs. Too often, it’s forgotten that guys like Richie Petitbon, Gary Fencik, Dave Duerson, and Brown were critical to those amazing eras of defense. It probably isn’t a coincidence that the 2018 unit reached its peak when Eddie Jackson and Adrian Amos were on the back end. Safeties are every bit as important today as they were 30-40 years ago.

Dillon Thieneman has landed in a great situation. He’s playing next to Coby Bryant, who is fresh off a Super Bowl championship. He’ll be coached by Dennis Allen, who developed Marcus Williams, Vonn Bell, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson in New Orleans. On top of that, Al Harris is his defensive backs coach, one of the best in the NFL. If Thieneman can’t reach his potential in this setup, he was never meant to have success at this level. Based on what we’ve heard, don’t bet against him.