Draft week is finally here for the Chicago Bears after much anticipation over the past several weeks about how they will improve their roster for next season.
The Bears won’t make their pick inside the top 10 for the first time in three drafts after winning the NFC North and making it as far as the divisional round of the 2025 NFL playoffs during Ben Johnson’s first season as head coach. Instead, they will pick 25th overall in the first round, creating a new type of challenge for the team’s front office.
The Bears also hold a pair of late second-round selections, including the No. 60 pick that they acquired in March from the Buffalo Bills in exchange for receiver DJ Moore.
That’s a decent amount of premium draft assets that Chicago can put toward improving their positions of need, such as edge rusher, defensive tackle, safety and linebacker.
Before the first-round action begins at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 23, here’s one final mock draft that looks at how things could play out for the Bears this weekend:
Note: This mock draft was created using Pro Football Sports Network’s mock draft simulator and using the consensus rankings for the prospects in the 2026 class:
Round 1, Pick 30: Zion Young, EDGE, Missouri
GettyFormer Missouri edge rusher Zion Young.
Trade: The Bears move back five spots in the first round with the Miami Dolphins in exchange for an additional third-round selection at No. 90 overall.
The Bears have clear defensive needs, but without a clear choice available at No. 25, I had them take an offer that gained them a Day 2 pick and kept them in position to take an edge rusher in Young, who could potentially make an immediate impact in 2026.
Young had a breakout season for the Tigers in 2025, recording 6.5 sacks, 16.5 tackles for loss and 53 pressures and earning high grades from Pro Football Focus as a pass rusher (81.6) and run defender (85.1). He also possesses ideal length (33-inch arms) and size (6-foot-5, 262 pounds) to work off the edge in Dennis Allen’s system, which intrigued the Bears enough to bring him in for a top 30 visit. At No. 30, he is a steal.
Round 2, Pick 57: Caleb Banks, DT, Florida
GettyFormer Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks.
The Bears may have lingering injury concerns about Banks after he broke his foot in March, but he is expected to return to on-field activities in June and would be a rock-solid pick for Chicago’s defensive line if they feel comfortable with his medical outlook. After all, an injury recovery didn’t stop them from taking Colston Loveland in 2025.
Banks is a rare physical specimen, standing 6-foot-6 and 327 pounds and possessing outstanding length (35-inch arms) for an interior defender. While some scouts have compared him to Bears starter Gervon Dexter Sr., he is coming into the NFL with a much quicker first-step get-off. He also has a powerful punch that can knock back opposing blockers, which helps him seal up rushing lanes. The Bears will need to work with him to polish his technique, but he has the upside to become a starter by Year 2.
Round 2, Pick 60: Keionte Scott, CB, Miami (FL)
GettyFormer Miami defensive back Keionte Scott.
Things should be a little more stable at cornerback for the Bears in 2026 so long as they can keep Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon healthy, but cornerback remains a priority. Not only do they need to find stronger personnel to prepare for a situation like the one they faced in 2025, but they also have Tyrique Stevenson and Terell Smith entering the final seasons of their rookie contracts and Nahshon Wright no longer on their roster.
Scott can hopefully remedy that problem for the Bears. He was one of the best defensive backs in the nation in 2025 with the Hurricanes, tallying 64 total tackles — including 13 for a loss — along with five sacks, five pass deflections and a pair of pick-sixes as their starting nickelback. His playstyle and quick-twitch reflexes could also make him a wild-card piece in Allen’s defense, capable of lining up anywhere from linebacker to safety.
Round 3, Pick 89: Jalon Kilgore, S, Georgia
GettyFormer South Carolina defensive back Jalon Kilgore.
Despite selecting Scott in the second round, I had the Bears double-dip on a versatile defensive back in the third round and find a more natural replacement for ex-starter Jaquan Brisker to play strong safety next to $40 million free-agent signing Coby Bryant.
Kilgore was most impressive as a nickelback for the Gamecocks, using his 4.4-second speed and size (6-foot-1, 218 pounds) to bring the hurt for their defense. Even still, his high-effort motor and playmaking ability could suit him to play in the box more often than the nickel for the Bears if they can work with him on better using his athleticism to cover the deep field. He also led South Carolina in pass breakups and interceptions in each of his final two collegiate seasons, which should help boost Chicago’s pass defense.
Round 3, Pick 90: Jake Slaughter, C, Florida
GettyFormer Florida center Jake Slaughter.
The Bears traded for veteran Garrett Bradbury to become their new starting center after Pro Bowl starter Drew Dalman retired on them earlier this offseason, but there are no guarantees that Bradbury will be the solution for them for either the short or long term.
Enter Slaughter, who, in addition to having an awesome football name, was described as “the heart and brains of the Florida offensive line” in Dane Brugler’s “The Beast.” He allowed one sack and four total pressures for the Gators and finished as a finalist for the Rimington Trophy in 2025, making his living with his refined movements and strength. He also recorded the third-best RAS score (9.97) among center prospects dating back to 1987, giving him enough athleticism to compete as a starter in an outside zone scheme.
Round 5, Pick 142: Kevin Coleman Jr., WR, Missouri
GettyFormer Missouri wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr.
Trade: The Bears move out of the fourth round (No. 129) and give up the better of two seventh-rounders (No. 239) to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for an early-round selection (No. 142) and a mid-round selection (No. 165) in the fifth round.
The Bears could take a wide receiver earlier in the draft if the right talent falls into their clutches on Day 2, but Coleman made sense after a trade back into the fifth round.
Coleman is a little undersized (5-foot-10, 178 pounds) for the slot role at the NFL level, but he can make it work due to his quick acceleration and deceptive agility as a route-runner. He is also sure-handed, posting a 2.9% drop rate in 2025 for the Tigers while catching 66 passes for 732 yards and one touchdown. The Bears would gain not only speed with him but also a new candidate to punt returners — and a Caleb Williams fan.
“That’d be crazy. The Heisman winner years ago? The way he throws the ball, the way he makes plays, the way he extends the play. I’d love playing for Caleb, for real,” Coleman said when asked about Williams at the NFL Combine in February.
Round 5, Pick 165: Harold Perkins Jr., LB, LSU
GettyFormer LSU linebacker Harold Perkins Jr.
The Bears have already made several moves at linebacker this offseason, cutting starter Tremaine Edmunds, signing veteran Devin Bush to a $30 million deal and re-signing D’Marco Jackson and Jack Sanborn (who spent 2025 in Dallas) to new contracts. That said, T.J. Edwards had a myriad of injury troubles last season, while Noah Sewell and Ruben Hyppolite are uncertain to make the active roster in 2026. Linebacker is a need.
Fortunately for Chicago, a versatile option in Perkins was available in the fifth round for this mock. The former LSU starter has the skill set and experience to line up as an off-ball linebacker or in the specialized STAR linebacker role. He can also rush the passer off the edge, relying on his sideline-to-sideline speed and athleticism to get results. If the Bears are still trying to make the linebacker position faster, Perkins will help out.
Round 7, Pick 241: Jaydn Ott, RB, Oklahoma
GettyFormer Oklahoma and Cal running back Jaydn Ott.
The Bears are unlikely to turn away from veteran D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai as their effective one-two punch in 2026, but a late-round flier on another running back would make sense after they struck gold with Monangai in the seventh round of 2025, especially with Travis Homer no longer around and Roschon Johnson entering Year 4.
Ott is a tricky evaluation. He averaged nearly 110 rushing yards per game at California in 2023, tallying 1,315 total rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on a career-high 246 total carries and showcasing his dynamic speed and explosiveness as a ball-carrier. Injuries knocked him off course in the subsequent two seasons, though, including in 2025 when he transferred to Oklahoma and finished with a career-low 21 carries for just 68 yards.
The Bears would have to feel comfortable about his medicals to even consider Ott, and it is worth mentioning that he does not possess the ideal skills for pass protection out of the backfield, but they could put his speed to work as a kick returner and special teams player while they lean on their main duo and develop him on offense behind the scenes.
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