The Chicago Bears continue to play with their cards close to their chest when it comes to their intentions with the 25th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft outside of the team’s top decision-makers saying the team will take the BPA approach.

In the meantime, draft experts continue to link three top positions to Chicago in the first-round: DE, OT, and S. Granted, there is an outside shot the team has a higher grade on a prospect outside of those three positions of need.

But, if we’re solely looking at those three positions for the Bears, there’s four teams picking ahead of Chicago that could easily impact the team’s draft board based on recent simulations I’ve done on the A to Z Sports Mock Draft Simulator.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 15th overall pick

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue to be linked to top edge rushers in the first-round and I’ve seen Akheem Mesidor, Keldric Faulk, and Malachi Lawrence connected here multiple times over the last few weeks. Both edge rushers would be ideal fits for the Bears, although people have their concerns about Mesidor’s age. Lawrence checks every box for Chicago and I would view the 15th overall pick as the ceiling for him in the draft.

Detroit Lions – 17th overall pick

The Detroit Lions have been sniffing around multiple top offensive linemen, including some of the top tackles in the class. The ideal outcome for Chicago would be the Lions drafting an interior offensive lineman in Olaivavega Ioane to allow more top tackle options to fall down the board. If the Lions select someone such as Kadyn Proctor or Max Iheanachor, it could start the second run of tackles earlier than the Bears would like. There’s also the outside chance the Lions draft an edge rusher as well instead of an OL.

Dallas Cowboys – 12th and 20th overall pick

The Dallas Cowboys are another team to watch when it comes to selecting a top edge rusher, armed with two picks in the Top-20. It’s very likely we see the Cowboys go DE and CB in some capacity with their two first-round selections. Ideally for Chicago, Rueben Bain Jr. falls down to 12 for Dallas and that slide pushes other DEs down the board after the 12th overall pick.

Philadelphia Eagles – 23rd overall pick

This is really THE team that will cause the Bears to hold their breath while they’re on the clock. The Philadelphia Eagles top needs are DE, OT, and S. Sound familiar? What the Eagles do at pick 23 will heavily influence what the Bears end up doing at pick 25. Recent national mock drafts had the Eagles selecting Mesidor, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Caleb Lomu, and Iheanachor. Philadelphia is sitting in a really solid spot given how the board will look and could easily swipe the top-graded player off Chicago’s board.