Every team always says they’ll take the best player available, regardless of position. That is hardly ever true. What they mean is that they will take the best player who both fits a potential need and meets the physical parameters they want. General managers and coaches have certain thresholds they aren’t willing to compromise on when it comes to size, length, and speed for draft prospects. The Chicago Bears are no different. General manager Ryan Poles, head coach Ben Johnson, and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen each have their preferences.

Allen is likely to be the one who takes center stage in the upcoming draft. Already, the team is moving towards a significant overhaul on defense. That means Allen will have a strong voice in how they approach adding young talent. No unit figures to get more action than the defensive line. Looking at his track record, it becomes clear that the benchmarks players must meet in terms of size and athleticism to be considered for his defense. We’ll call it his gold zone.

Defensive tackle:

• 290-300 lbs
• 32+-inch arms
• 10-yard split between 1.68 and 1.75

Edge rusher:

• 250-285 lbs
• 33+-inch arms
• 10-yard split between 1.55 and 1.65

Only seven players reached that gold zone for Dennis Allen.

It’s worth noting that several notable names didn’t participate in drills at the event, including projected 1st-rounders like Peter Woods, Christen Miller, and Zion Young. All are expected to run at their pro days, so this list could change. As of now, there are nine players who have the required size, length, and explosive get-off to be circled by Allen as a good fit for his defense. Only two of them are currently projected as 1st round picks, and one will be long gone before the Bears go on the clock.

Bailey is the one who is unlikely to make it out of the top 10 this April. He’s been one of the hottest names in the draft for months. The one 1st rounder left is Parker. He has prototypical defensive end size, length, and explosiveness. He was excellent in 2024 with 11 sacks. However, this past season saw a regression in stats. He was very good at the Senior Bowl, though. He is a legitimate option for the 25th pick. However, the most intriguing name on that list is Lawrence.

Allen will have some interesting options.

For the past few months, Lawrence was considered a 3rd or 4th round guy. He was consistently productive at UCF but never had that massive breakout season. Yet his size, length, and explosiveness are real. They pop on tape as well. His tackles for loss per game (TFL/g) sit at 0.92, which is right behind expected top 10 pick Rueben Bain Jr. (0.97). Depending on how the 1st round unfolds, it’s fair to wonder if Lawrence might go considerably higher than the media believes at this stage.

The far more problematic position is defensive tackle. Right now, the only one of the three listed who will go in the first three rounds is Durant. None of the 1st round prospects met the parameters. Most were too heavy or not explosive enough. This puts Dennis Allen in a predicament. The list of options is small, meaning he’ll either have to make some compromises on his desired length and weight or go after a guy he wants early. It puts the team in a serious conundrum. The hope is that some of the players who didn’t participate will check the necessary boxes at their pro days.

As of now, keep Parker’s name cirlced for the 1st round while Durant and Lawrence could be 2nd round options.

The Chicago Bears knew they’d have to make some tough decisions this offseason to get under the salary cap. One of the most prominent was with linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. While the 28-year-old has been a quality starter since signing with the team in 2023, his contract has become problematic as the team faces salary cap issues. As a result, they’ve given Edmunds and his agents permission to seek potential trade destinations. Most believe this is a pointless exercise and the linebacker will eventually be released.

NFL insider Albert Breer isn’t so sure about that. He believes Edmunds is valued much more highly in NFL circles than among the fans and media. Given his age and productivity, there is a chance the Bears might not just get a return on him, but a decent one.

Tremaine Edmunds is somehow both heading into his ninth NFL season and still two months shy of his 28th birthday. And so as the Bears seek a potential trade partner to shed a little salary, there should be a market for the big, athletic, still relatively young linebacker.

What sort of return will Edmunds bring? My guess is that an early Day 3 pick is how most teams would value him, because he’s due $15 million this year, with what amounts to a $15 million team option for next year on the contract as well. That market, by the way, is dictated by the fact that most teams are hesitant to pay off-ball linebackers that don’t bring a lot of pass-rush value. Still, some team could get a good player here.

With little cap space to throw around, the only way the Bears can continue overhauling their roster is with draft picks. Getting a potential 4th rounder for Edmunds would be a significant victory for the organization.

The reasons someone would trade for Tremaine Edmunds are simple.

From what we’ve seen over the past several years, the linebacker is good for around 110 tackles, a couple of interceptions, and a sack every year. Several teams wouldn’t mind that kind of production from that position. He was playing great football for the Bears last season before getting injured. He’s well-known for being a great teammate. The only sticking point is that $17.4 million cap hit. That can be dealt with by handing him a limited extension, perhaps another two years. This would lower the hit considerably.

Conversely, the Bears would then have eight picks in the 2026 draft, giving them more flexibility to remake the roster as head coach Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen see fit. Besides, getting a draft pick back for a player you signed using only money is pretty good football business. The challenge will be finding a buyer. Las Vegas, New York, Dallas, and Denver all need help at linebacker. Outside of the Cowboys, all of those teams have enough cap space to facilitate a trade. The Jets have extra picks to spare, as do the Raiders.

All the Bears need is more than one team to be interested.

The allure of Tremaine Edmunds is simple enough. Free agency has few clear answers at the position, which means several teams will be vying for his services were he to hit the market. Would you rather get in a bidding war for him and risk losing out, or flip a mid round pick to the Bears to guarantee landing him? That is what GM Ryan Poles is likely banking on. Somebody won’t want Edmunds reaching free agency and feel a 4th or 5th rounder is a reasonable price to pay. He’s still in his prime and should be a quality starter for a few more years at least.

Some don’t believe it will reach that point. The incoming 2026 draft class has a host of quality linebacker options this year. Teams will end up just taking their chances in that area, letting someone else pay for Edmunds. Chicago will likely move him before the start of the new league year on March 11th. All they need is a couple of teams to make offers. If they can snag any draft pick, it should be considered a win. More capital is a good thing for this organization.

The Chicago Bears have so much work to do on defense this offseason. They already have four safeties coming out of contract, and their defensive line needs tons of work, too. Now, Tremaine Edmund could be traded or cut in the near future. That leaves several start jobs unaccounted for and not many resources to fill them all. Meanwhile, people seem to have forgotten that another significant issue at left tackle remains unresolved. That is what makes the recent comments from Dan Roushar so important.

Ozzy Trapilo was shaping up to become the long-term fixture at that spot before he injured his knee. Now it’s believed he could miss all of 2026 recovering from it. Roushar appeared on Terron Armstead’s podcast, where he was asked about the left tackle situation. The Bears’ offensive line coach didn’t mince words. He stated that he doesn’t think the team’s best option for the position is currently on the roster. Guys like Theo Benedet, Kiran Amegadjie, and Braxton Jones all have certain good traits.

None of them has shown enough to justify getting the job next season.

Dan Roushar sure makes it sound like left tackle is a priority.

Therein lay the problem. If he’s not sold on any of the current guys the Bears have, then it means the team will go hunting for an outsider. Free agency is the first option, and not a great one. Rasheed Walker and Cam Robinson are the only two noteworthy names available, and neither is what you’d call above-average. Forget the trade market. Other teams never trade good left tackles. That leaves the draft. While the defense needs so much work, head coach Ben Johnson may have to prioritize grabbing a left tackle in the 1st round. That is because waiting drastically reduces the team’s odds of finding someone credible.

Then again, Dan Roushar is no stranger to finding hidden gems in the draft. Armstead, the very man interviewing him, was a 3rd-round pick of the New Orleans Saints. He became an All-Pro. Two-time Pro Bowl center Eric McCoy went in the 2nd round. Roushar has shown he can help find good players outside the 1st, but it is challenging. It might come down to how much head coach Ben Johnson trusts his own eye for talent and whether the Bears feel they can get somebody who can start immediately in the 2nd or 3rd.

The Bears will have some interesting options.

Initial predictions believe the 1st round will be heavy on defense. Naturally, there will be a mix of offensive names across all positions, but it’s possible there might not be a huge run on tackles. Names like Monroe Freeling of Georgia or Caleb Lomu of Utah could be an option with that 25th pick. Both fit what Dan Roushar prefers in his linemen: a good foundation in pass protection. That will be an obvious priority for any tackle the Bears pick. Much depends on how the first 24 selections unfold.

If there is a run on the position at some point, it could force the team to wait until later rounds. Johnson has said that they are focused on taking good football players. They won’t be married to specific positions. Still, what they do in March will send a clear signal about their intentions in April. Unless they bring back Jones or sign a notable free agent, you can bank on left tackle being circled for that 25th pick.