Even as the Chicago Bears fight to reach the playoffs for the first time in half a decade, people are getting a firm grasp on what must happen next offseason to help them reach true contention. This year marked the first of the Ben Johnson era. He and GM Ryan Poles put together an impressive offseason, headlined by their 2025 draft class. Colston Loveland, Luther Burden, Ozzy Trapilo, and Kyle Monangai have all become legitimate contributors on offense. However, the same can't be said for the other side of the ball.
Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has been hampered by terrible luck from the start of the year. Pricey free agent Dayo Odeyingbo tore his Achilles. Grady Jarrett has been hampered by a knee injury as well. Shemar Turner, their 2nd round pick, tore his ACL. Fourth rounder Ruben Hyppolite hasn't been much of a factor beyond special teams. Fifth round pick Zah Frazier was deactivated for the season due to personal issues. So yeah, this year didn't help much at all.
Fortunately, top analyst Brett Kollmann of Bootleg Football believes help is on the way. Teams needing defensive help couldn't ask for a better setup in the upcoming 2026 draft.
The Chicago Bears are perfectly positioned to take advantage.
Their excellent 2025 draft on offense has largely situated them well moving forward. There won't be much need to address that side of the ball outside of some depth moves. That means Poles, Johnson, and Allen will be free to devote most of their attention to finding as many quality defensive players as possible. Kollmann isn't the only one who sees the potential. Pro Football Focus's big board of top draft prospects features 29 defenders in the top 50 and 19 as 1st round possibilities. The best part? Sixteen of them are defensive linemen.
If the Chicago Bears play their cards right, they could give the weakest part of their defense a massive jolt in one fell swoop. They sorely need pass rush help both inside and outside. However, there is also the fact that both of their starting safeties will become free agents in March. There is a strong possibility the team will have to draft somebody to replace one of them. It is a delicate balance they will have to strike. Much depends on what Allen's priorities will be.
