Latest 2026 3-round NFL mock draft has the Bears injecting new life into the defense for Dennis Allen and Ben Johnson
The direction is clear for what the Bears should do early in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Chicago Bears are currently seeing the rewards of the 2025 NFL Draft class unfold heading into the playoffs with Colston Loveland, Luther Burden III, Ozzy Trapilo, and Kyle Monangai all playing meaningful roles for an offense built like a true Super Bowl caliber unit.
Kudos to general manager Ryan Poles, with a heavy assist from head coach Ben Johnson, for absolutely knocking that draft class out of the park and being able to reshape the offense into a formidable unit that no team wants to face.
Looking ahead to 2026, the same level of attention needs to happen on the other side of the ball. The Bears defense is in shambles and littered with overpriced talent producing pathetic results on the field. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s unit needs a complete overhaul this upcoming offseason and the best way to find cheap and solid talent is always the NFL draft.
Which is why in the latest 2026 3-round NFL draft from A to Z Sports, college football expert AJ Schulte had the Bears selecting three defenders with their top three picks. Let’s break them down.
*Note: Draft order was made using the inverse order of Super Bowl betting odds
Chicago Bears 3-round NFL Mock Draft
Round 1, Pick 25: A’Mauri Washington, DT, Oregon
First order of business for overhauling the defensive side of the ball has to start up-front with the defensive line, which happens to be the team’s most expensive unit on the roster. Montez Sweat, Dayo Odeyingbo, and Grady Jarrett are locked into a lot of money in 2026 and the team has three recent draft picks under contract next year in Austin Booker, Gervon Dexter Sr., and Shemar Turner.
Yet, that unit still failed to generate any consistent pressure on the quarterback. Picking in the late 20’s is usually a tough spot to find a blue-chip edge rusher, but teams have done well finding really strong rotational players on the interior, players such as Devonte Wyatt and Bryan Bresee. That’s the kind of player the Bears look for to be Poles’ first ever defensive player selected in Round 1.
“Washington can be a disruptive three-down defender to plug right into the middle of their defense and draw attention away to free up their edge rushers.” – Schulte
Round 2, Pick 58: Romello Height, EDGE, Texas Tech
This is the same mindset I currently have for April’s draft, doubling-up on the defensive line with the first two draft picks. After taking the interior player in the first-round, the Bears can turn the attention to finding a quality depth piece off the edge to have behind Sweat and Booker.
Finding such a player in the late second-round can be a tough business, but it’s not impossible. In this mock, the Bears luck out by having a player like Romello Height still available.
Height bounced around a few different schools during his college career but is coming off his best season in which he totaled 9.0 sacks at Texas Tech. He demonstrates an explosive first step and high motor on the field, two traits the Bears are currently missing off the edge.
Round 3, Pick 89: Deontae Lawson, LB, Alabama
Linebacker is another position the Bears have a lot of money tied up at between Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards. It’s also been a frustrating season for both players when it came to battling through soft-tissue injuries that continue to linger late in the season.
I’d like to give both players the benefit of the doubt and run it back with this duo next season to see what they can do when they’re fully healthy and playing side-by-side. But, if the Bears opt to shed Edmunds’ contract, I wouldn’t fault that decision.
Either way, the Bears would still be smart to add another backer to the room. The Bears reached way to high on Ruben Hyppolite II last spring and he’s been nothing but a special teams player at best, if he’s even active on game day. There’s a lot to like with Deontae Lawson as an initial depth player who has a high-football IQ and can be a downhill tackler.
Final Thoughts
Addressing the front two levels of the defense needs to be a priority for this team early in the 2026 NFL draft. Chicago is returning all 11 starters on offense and the majority of those starters are locked up for years, so there’s no reason to try and upgrade any of those positions.
My only concern was not addressing the safety position with basically every safety off the books in 2026. Pro Bowl safety Kevin Byard is an easy candidate to bring back but the same can’t be said for Jaquan Brisker. Although, when speaking on the safety position before the season, Poles did mention his team will be watching the free agent market to bring in a second safety.
If that’s indeed the case and safety is more of a free agent priority, Chicago should go full steam ahead to overhaul the defensive front early in this draft.
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