Bears Post-Combine 7-Round 2026 Mock Draft: Four trades allow Chicago to stockpile selections and overhaul the roster
Seeing how various trade rumors and prospect meetings from the NFL Combine could impact the Chicago Bears’ draft plans.
Combine week is in the books and it was quite the busy week for the Chicago Bears when you factor in the amount of interviews with general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson along with all of the trade rumors and prospect meetings.
Now that it’s in the rearview mirror, there’s no better time to reflect on what we learned and how it’ll shape the team’s draft plans in April. What better way than to do it than another seven-round mock draft.
Not only that, we’ll include four different trades involving the four different players rumored to be on the block. Here’s the four trades I made to give you an idea of what compensation return to expect and what the Bears could do with those new selections.
- QB Tyson Bagent traded to Arizona Cardinals for a 2026 third-round pick (No. 65)
- LB Tremaine Edmunds traded to Las Vegas Raiders for a 2026 fifth-round pick (No. 174 comp)
- WR DJ Moore traded to Buffalo Bills for a 2026 fourth-round pick (No. 126)
- DT Gervon Dexter Sr. traded to Cincinnati Bengals for a 2026 fourth-round pick (No. 110)
Bears 7-Round Post-Combine Mock Draft
Round 1, pick 25: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo
When Poles took the podium on Tuesday, he dove a little into the team’s first-round plans and shared that it’s always best to position yourself into taking the best player available. It’s a strategy the team did last year by selecting Colston Loveland, despite not having a glaring need at tight end, and it’s safe to say that decision worked out pretty well.
If we’re taking the BPA approach again, it’d be hard to turn down Emmanuel McNeil-Warren if he’s on the board, and it helps that safety is a major need too. Chicago met with McNeil-Warren on the first day he was in Indy and he could bring the hard-hitting juice this defense needs from the position.
Round 2, pick 57: Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech
After how the linebackers looked this week, the second-round is the new hotspot to land a Day 1 starter at the position if you miss out on Sonny Styles, CJ Allen, and Anthony Hill. The best option after those four is easily Jacob Rodriguez.
The only problem is, every team will be lining up to draft this guy, and 57 might even be too late to acquire him now. Until we get a more accurate projection, I’ll continue to pencil him in as a second-round guy and one that can give Dennis Allen the speed he desires at the second level.
Round 3, pick 65 (via ARI): Gracen Halton, DT, Oklahoma
Ideally, I’d like to see the Bears take a defensive tackle higher than this but this is the way things worked out. After the combine, I fully expect the Bears to look into potential trade options or free agents on the interior to avoid having to use a first-round pick at this position.
A Day 2 guy I’m starting to like, especially after this past week, is Gracen Halton. His numbers turned out to be really impressive and Dennis Allen’s scheme is used to undersized interior players. You’ll see him listed a common “riser” the next couple of days and should be in the Top-75 conversation now.
Round 3, pick 89: Anthony Lucas, DE, USC
One of the notable comments from Poles on Tuesday is when he said he felt the EDGE class was deeper than the interior class. At the same time, Chicago met with multiple first-round EDGE options. One Day 2 name the Bears met with as well was Anthony Lucas, who is a solid scheme-fit for the Bears given his frame and length off the edge. He’s a more developmental/rotational guy, which is the kind of player Chicago should be looking to add anyways.
Round 4, pick 110 (via CIN): Kevin Coleman Jr., WR, Missouri
The lone wide receiver I tracked that met with Chicago was Kevin Coleman Jr. which opens up the possibility of the Bears making it back-to-back years selecting a Missouri wide receiver. In the event DJ Moore is traded, Coleman is a name to watch. He’s more of a slot player that plays with the kind of toughness and willingness to block that Ben Johnson will love.
Round 4, pick 126 (via BUF): Tacario Davis, CB, Washington
Chicago met with multiple cornerbacks and showed a similar type with the majority being 6-2+ with great arm length. It’s clear the Bears are looking for Nahshon Wright’s replacement. The one I decided to go with in this mock was Tacario Davis, a 6-4 outside cornerback that had 25 career pass deflections while allowing just one touchdown in 2025.
Round 4, pick 129: Josh Cuevas, TE, Alabama
First luxury pick of this mock given the amount of added selections from the trades I made. The Bears did meet with Josh Cuevas at the combine and would need a new TE3 with Durham Smythe being a pending free agent. Cuevas can play anywhere for an offense with a specialty as an H-back, which can unlock a whole new element to Ben Johnson’s offense in multi-TE packages.
Round 5, pick 163: Bishop Fitzgerald, S, USC
Doubling-up at the safety position is a wise decision with this many selections and we’re going with another USC defender. Fitzgerald’s 40-time will likely drop his stock but he still showed off his athleticism in other on-field drills. His 2025 play speaks for itself and this guy has great instincts in coverage when it comes to tracking the ball down. He’d be an easy fit in Al Harris’ secondary.
Round 5, pick 174 (via LV): Logan Fano, DE, Utah
Just like safety, this is a great draft to double-up on EDGE rushers. After taking Lucas, I came back two rounds later to take Logan Fano. He’s another long-armed edge rusher with plus run defense. He might be a tad older of a prospect, but that’s something Poles said he’s not too concerned about.
Round 7, pick 239: Connor Tollison, C, Missouri
Connor Tollison is becoming one of my top options for the Bears in the seventh-round. He can provide Chicago a young backup to develop behind Drew Dalman while keeping Luke Newman at guard to develop behind Joe Thuney. He’s got the right athletic traits to excel in this system and can benefit from a few years of development.
Round 7, pick 241: Behren Morton, QB, Texas Tech
Last, but not least, we replace Tyson Bagent with Behren Morton. Chicago met with two quarterbacks and Morton seems like the likeliest of the two to be available for the Bears without spending a unreasonably high pick on a backup. He’s a potential UDFA option as well but with two seventh-round picks is worth using one to make sure you can land him during the draft.