7 winners and losers from the Chicago Bears’ 2026 NFL Draft, including a former fifth-round pick with a clear path to a starting job
The Chicago Bears’ 2026 NFL Draft class will send a ripple effect throughout the entire roster going into the 2026 season, but some players got an added sense of security after this past weekend.
The Chicago Bears finalized their 2026 NFL Draft class over the weekend with seven new rookies set to join the roster. And their arrival will lead to multiple ripple effects throughout the rest of the roster.
However, the positions the Bears decided not to address during the draft this weekend is just as important. So, let’s break down some of the winners and losers following the decisions made over the last few days.
Winner: LT Braxton Jones
Bears head coach Ben Johnson expressed uncertainty about the future of the team’s left tackle position, to the point many experts linked Chicago to some of the top offensive tackles in the class. Not only did the Bears not draft an OT in the first-round, they didn’t draft a single one all weekend.
That decision puts a ton of faith in former fifth-round pick Braxton Jones. Jones was a quality starter for four years for the Bears but recent injuries derailed his trajectory. However, the staff is willing to give him a second chance to prove himself as a starting caliber player now that he’s fully healthy as he competes against Jedrick Wills Jr.
Winner: DC Dennis Allen
The Bears’ defense struggled mightily during the 2025 season and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen took a lot of criticism for that. In reality, Allen was forced to work with players he inherited from Matt Eberflus that did not fit the scheme he wanted to run.
This offseason, the Bears changed that. Here’s the full run down on the top defensive additions made this offseason: S Coby Bryant, LB Devin Bush, LB D’Marco Jackson, DB Cam Lewis, DT Neville Gallimore, DT Kentavius Street, LB Jack Sanborn, S Dillon Thieneman, CB Malik Muhammad, LB Keyshaun Elliott, DT Jordan van den Berg.
That’s how you overhaul a defense, even if the Bears didn’t add a top pass rusher like everyone wanted. The Bears added some real speed to fit Allen’s scheme and significantly improved the back seven.
Loser: LB Ruben Hyppolite II
If you noticed from that list of defensive additions, the Bears added four new linebackers while still having T.J. Edwards as one of the starters. That spells bad news for 2025 fourth-round pick Ruben Hyppolite II, who was already a significant reach of a selection.
Hyppolite played in seven games as a rookie but only logged 31 defensive snaps despite Chicago having multiple injuries at the position throughout the year. The Bears were amazed by Hyppolite’s speed coming out of the draft but he never managed to impress enough on the field to earn a defensive role. With added competition, I don’t expect that to change in 2026 and Hyppolite might turn into a practice squad player real soon.
Loser: C Garrett Bradbury
After the sudden retirement of Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman, the Bears moved quickly to find a replacement option and made a trade to land veteran Garrett Bradbury. It was a low-cost move to make sure the offensive line doesn’t have an immediate setback.
However, Bradbury clearly wasn’t viewed as a long-term answer and that was confirmed when the Bears drafted Logan Jones in the second-round. The former Iowa center got a strong review from head coach Ben Johnson and could even challenge Bradbury for the starting job. If he doesn’t win the job in 2026, Jones will for sure be the guy in 2027.
Winner: D’Andre Swift
I didn’t honestly expect the Bears to use significant draft capital at the running back position and the fact Chicago didn’t does give some confidence to D’Andre Swift. Swift had a strong season back in Ben Johnson’s offense but you could still tell something was off in his game and there was room for improvement there.
With Swift entering the final year of his contract, the Bears could have added a long-term option to pair with Kyle Monangai and saved money by releasing/trading Swift before the start of the season. Instead, it’ll be a top position to address next offseason.
Loser: TE Cole Kmet
After selecting TE Sam Roush in the third-round, general manager Ryan Poles cleared the air on veteran TE Cole Kmet’s future and essentially said Kmet is safe as far as things go for 2026. That lines up with the team’s decision to restructure his contract last Thursday.
Where things get complicated is looking ahead to 2027. That restructure just pushed Kmet’s money back a year and would make it more likely to move on from him after this upcoming season, or work out a new deal. An extension for Kmet is nowhere close to the top priorities for this team in 2027 and if Roush can prove his worth as a rookie, we could be looking at one last ride for the team’s longest-tenured offensive player.
Winner: Dayo Odeyingbo and the rest of the DEs
Ryan Poles made the bold decision not to add any defensive ends, AT ALL, to this roster throughout the entire offseason. The Bears kicked around the idea of making a blockbuster trade for Maxx Crosby but hesitated at the price. Poles then decided not to address the position in the first-round, and the rest of the draft for that matter.
After the draft ended, Poles and Johnson both shared confidence in the returning pieces off the edge. Dayo Odeyingbo is a big one to watch coming off a season-ending injury with a massive price tag attached to his name. The rest of the DE room (Montez Sweat, Austin Booker, and Shemar Turner) should feel better going into this week as well.
