Going into the 2026 season, the four NFC North beat writers at A to Z Sports (including myself) decided to come together and create the all-NFC North team based on the top players at each position in the division. Numerous selections prompted debate during the exercise, while others received unanimous selections.

The four beat writers that took part in this exercise are as follows:

• Tyler Forness: Minnesota Vikings
• Mike Payton: Detroit Lions
• Wendell Ferreira: Green Bay Packers
• Kole Noble: Chicago Bears

Looking at the offensive and defensive rosters, the Chicago Bears had four players total make it onto the 2026 all-NFC North team.

Player	Position
Joe Thuney	Left Guard
Darnell Wright	Right Tackle
Jonah Jackson	Right Guard
Jaylon Johnson	Outside Cornerback

Let’s break down what this exercise got right, and wrong, about certain players going into the 2026 season and some of the reasons why other Bears players were left off entirely.

What we got right about the Chicago Bears players that made the team

Let’s start off with left guard Joe Thuney, who was one of the few unanimous selections on this team that required no debate whatsoever. Thuney is the reigning, first-ever, AP Protector of the Year award winner, an honor he actually won over our all-NFC North left tackle Penei Sewell. Thuney proved to be a valuable addition to the Bears offense and while he’s getting up there in age, his play in 2025 proved there’s no signs of him slowing down anytime soon. He’s just the ultimate master of consistency and deserved to be here.

Another unanimous selection was cornerback Jaylon Johnson, even coming off a season in which he missed 10 games due to a major groin/leg injury. The reason why Johnson was unanimous was due to the overall quality of the outside cornerbacks in this division with Byron Murphy Jr. taking the opposite outside spot over D.J. Reed. Johnson, at his best, is a lockdown cornerback capable of shadowing opposing No. 1 wide receivers. Now that he’s fully healthy, the Bears are hoping to get the 2023-version of Jaylon Johnson back again.

One debate that was closer than I expected was at right tackle. After making the consensus decision to put Sewell at left tackle (which is where the Lions plan to move him in 2026), I thought it was going to be a unanimous pick for Darnell Wright. Forness presented a strong argument for Vikings right tackle Brian O’Neill citing his eight years of starting experience and two Pro Bowl selections on his resume. Ultimately, we went with the upside taking Wright as the other bookend opposite Sewell, which is a deadly combo.

As for Jonah Jackson, he’s someone I wasn’t expecting to make this list. In reality, the competition wasn’t that glamorous. Payton made his case for Lions right guard Tate Ratledge, but Jackson proved to be the more well-rounded guard. Bears head coach Ben Johnson believes Jackson is still a Pro Bowl-caliber player as well. So, it was the right call.

Overall, I wasn’t surprised to only see four Bears players make the cut. Three of the four were offensive linemen, and that would have sounded insane just two years ago. But, that is the reality for the Bears and it’s a great sign for this team going into the season.

Which Bears players didn’t make the team, and the reasoning behind it

Let’s start this conversation off with the elephant in the room in quarterback Caleb Williams. Within the next 2-3 years, I do believe we will see Williams’ name leading this team. Heading into 2026, however, it’s a tough argument to make because Williams has his clear flaws he still has to overcome as a quarterback. Payton and Ferreira got into a heated debate between Jordan Love and Jared Goff with Love coming out on top as our QB1. Bears fans won’t want to hear that, but the time is coming in which Williams will be in this conversation.

One player I wish I made a stronger case for was tight end Colston Loveland. The tight end position ended up being a toss up between Tucker Kraft and Sam LaPorta but I believe Loveland deserved a seat at the table, even after one year. However, it’s clear the other three writers want to see Loveland do it again and avoid the sophomore slump that cooled down other hotshot rookies in the past. By the end of this year, if Loveland continues at his current pace, I truly believe that he will be viewed as a Top 3-5 tight end. Loveland would have been an easy flex candidate if we wanted to build a 12-13 personnel offense. Instead we went with three WRs and picked Jordan Addison as the flex WR3.

I also made an attempt to have an argument for Kyler Gordon at the nickel position, which ended up going to Josh Metellus. Both are really good players in that role and the only thing holding back Gordon’s case was the fact that he missed 14 games last season and continued to be sidelined in the spring due to soft tissue injuries. When he’s on the field, the difference is noticeable but availability is becoming a big concern for the Bears.

The last Bears player that barely missed the cut was center Garrett Bradbury. On paper, the veteran projects as the best of the four projected starters. However, it’s still not a guarantee that Bradbury even starts for Chicago after the team drafted Logan Jones in the second-round. I still believe Bradbury will win the job and should have been the starting center for this team over Cade Mays, who joined the Lions this offseason and has limited starting experience under his belt. Had former Bears Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman not retired, we all agreed that it would have been a no-brainer decision to have him as our starter.

Overall, it’s clear the Bears have a lot of talented players that still need to prove themselves as top players in this division. In time, I believe they can and also believe other players like Luther Burden III or Rome Odunze could join this debate with a strong season in 2026.