The 2026 NFL Draft is just nine days away and the Chicago Bears will have a wide range of players to consider with the 25th overall pick, depending on who’s actually still on the board when they’re on the clock.

The Bears have obvious needs to address on the defensive line and still need at least one starting-caliber safety. After hearing from general manager Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson, the Bears also have some uncertainty at the left tackle position.

Where the conversation becomes clouded is when you start considering the Bears as a BPA team in the first-round that overlooks clear needs to simply draft good football players. That line of thinking paid off for the Bears last season and helps keep multiple options open in this year’s draft.

Let’s close off a few of those doors by listing five of my least preferred options the Bears should avoid in the first-round. Fittingly, they’re all defensive lineman.

5. Caleb Banks, DT, Florida

Caleb Banks has fallen out of first-round consideration over the last few months after suffering another foot injury at the NFL Combine. Banks also dealt with an injury to the same foot that forced him to miss the majority of the 2025 season.

Before the recent injury, teams viewed Banks as a powerful and explosive player in the interior of the defensive line. If it wasn’t for the injury concerns, he should easily be viewed as a Top-20 projection. The career production was also a concern teams will have to consider. As a second-round option, Banks will be a logical prospect to watch, although a team will surely look to draft him early on Day 2.

4. Cashius Howell, DE, Texas A&M

Cashius Howell has the speed and twitch worth betting on as a late first-round edge rusher but he lacks the length Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen ideally wants in his edge rushers. Arm length is a big conversation for Rueben Bain Jr., who measured out at 30 7/8 inches. Howell’s arm length is even smaller at 30 1/4 inches.

Even if he had great production by all metrics, the arm length concern will likely have him completely off Dennis Allen’s board. I also wouldn’t be shocked if he completely fell out of the first-round entirely.

3. Peter Woods, DT, Clemson

The range for Peter Woods has fluctuated between the mid-teens and late-20’s including a few links to the Bears with the 25th overall pick. He’s an explosive athlete on the field but he avoided doing on-field testing during the pre-draft process to really showcase his speed and athleticism.

He lacks the arm length and size to be a traditional fit as an NFL defensive tackle, but actually fits the mold Allen prefers in his interior players. The real concern for me is the consistency. He’s shown he can make some splash plays but not at the rate you want for a first-round prospect to be a three-down starter.

2. T.J. Parker, DE, Clemson

Looking at the numbers for T.J. Parker, he fits the desired measurables for Dennis Allen when it comes to arm length and his quickness off the edge. The downside for Parker is that he doesn’t really have a high ceiling as a pass rusher but his floor is really strong.

Teams will also be concerned about the dip in production, as I’m sure many people have already heard about regarding Parker. He went from 11.0 sacks in 2024 to 5.0 sacks in 2025 with a similar decline in tackles and tackles for a loss while playing two less games. Not having that high ceiling paired with a production dip in 2025 is a troubling combo to have.

1. Zion Young, DE, Missouri

Earlier in the draft process, I felt like Zion Young was the ideal edge rusher for the Bears to consider in the first-round with the ideal size and length. Young does not have the quickness the Bears are looking for after running a 4.75 40-yard-dash with a 1.72 10-yard-split at his Pro Day.

Young also has off-the-field concerns that Dane Brugler shared in The Beast, the type of off-the-field issues Bears general manager Ryan Poles would normally shy away from.