The Truth Behind The Chicago Bears’ Draft: Why Edge Rusher Was Never A Priority
If you asked fans or local media members what the Chicago Bears‘ biggest need was going into the 2026 NFL draft, a large majority of them probably would’ve said edge rusher. Outside of Montez Sweat last year, the Bears were painfully ineffective at that position. Austin Booker missed half of the season with a knee injury. Dayo Odeyingbo tore his Achilles and missed 11 games. Shemar Turner tore his ACL and wasn’t overly effective even before that. Everything pointed to this draft being the one where the Bears had to find help.
So you can imagine the sheer confusion when not only did they not take one in the 1st round, they didn’t take one at all. The only defensive line addition made in the entire draft was 6th round pick Jordan Van Den Berg, a defensive tackle from Georgia Tech. The initial belief is that the board never offered a good opportunity for the Bears to pounce. That is partially true. However, another part of it, according to Adam Hoge of CHGO, is that the team had been particularly ruthless in whittling down the list of options they liked in this class.
“This was probably the most aggressive we were in terms of the guys that we really like. They have to play our style. They’ve gotta have the right makeup. In terms of our scheme fits, all of that had to be there. If it wasn’t there, you’re off the board. We were really aggressive with it, so when you look at it, it feels really thin, but that’s a good thing.”
In other words, the Bears’ draft board was smaller this year. And from my understanding, that held particularly true on the defensive line – including the defensive tackles.
Things finally make sense about the Chicago Bears’ draft approach.
Poles was pretty specific in mentioning those three categories: style, makeup, and scheme fit. When you start digging into what he means and apply it to the available information on this draft class, everything starts lining up. Let’s start with style. From what we know about defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, his #1 priority for his defensive ends is stopping the run. They must be able to set the edge. Unfortunately, several prominent names in the class were noted for having problems doing that.
| Player | School | Reported Run Defense Concerns |
|---|---|---|
| David Bailey | Texas Tech | Frequently described as “light in the pants” at 251 lbs; struggles to hold the point of attack and is often washed down the line. |
| Cashius Howell | Texas A&M | Pure pass-rush specialist who offers “little against the run”; lacks the functional strength and length (historic 30.3″ arm outlier) to set a strong edge. |
| Joshua Josephs | Tennessee | Lacks the anchor to prevent offensive tackles from moving him off the line consistently; weight (242 lbs) is in the 5th percentile for edge rushers. |
| Akheem Mesidor | Miami | Categorized as a “questionable” run defender; short arms can cause him to get steered out of gaps or stuck on blocks once a lineman gets inside his frame. |
| Derrick Moore | Michigan | Despite his power, he is noted for being on the ground too often when defending the run and lacking “pop” in his hands to effectively disengage. |
| Malachi Lawrence | UCF | An “absolute blazer” as a pass rusher, but his undersized 253-lb frame raises significant questions about his ability to handle NFL-level run blocking. |
| Max Llewellyn | Iowa | Reportedly “lacks the play strength” to be a sturdy run defender, projecting more as a situational pass-rush rotation player. |
| Keyron Crawford | Auburn | Considered “not ready” for full-time run-game responsibilities; lacks the early-down consistency needed at the pro level. |
Next, we have the right makeup. Poles and head coach Ben Johnson have said on several occasions that they want players with high character. They must be good teammates, great workers, and passionate about the game. Some in the class checked that box with flying colors. Unfortunately, a few of the more notable names did not.
| Player | School | Reported Scouting & Character Concerns |
|---|---|---|
| Zion Young | Missouri | Character: Pending legal issues including a December 2025 DWI arrest and a prior misdemeanor assault charge from an on-field tunnel fight while at Michigan State. |
| Joshua Josephs | Tennessee | Character: Teams reportedly noted it took significant time for him to develop “professional habits” and gave mixed feedback on interviews. |
| Derrick Moore | Michigan | Character: Reportedly showed an “uncooperative attitude” during drills at the Senior Bowl, drawing negative attention from scouts. |
| T.J. Parker | Clemson | Character: Faced criticism for “inconsistent effort” during the 2025 season after a dip in production compared to his sophomore year. |
| Dani Dennis-Sutton | Penn State | Character: Described as having “personality quirks” that some scouts translate as being potentially difficult to coach. |
Lastly, there is scheme fit.
Another key with Allen is that his defensive ends always tend to fit the same mold. They must be at least 6’4″, 260 lbs, and have 33-inch arms. That pool was noticeably light this year. Many of the prominent options in this class either didn’t have the necessary height/length or weight.
| Player | School | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arvell Reese | Ohio State | 6’4″ | 241 lbs |
| R Mason Thomas | Oklahoma | 6’2″ | 241 lbs |
| Joshua Josephs | Tennessee | 6’3″ | 243 lbs |
| Trey Moore | Texas | 6’2″ | 243 lbs |
| Romello Height | Texas Tech | 6’3″ | 239 lbs |
| George Gumbs Jr. | Florida | 6’4″ | 245 lbs |
| Jaishawn Barham | Michigan | 6’3″ | 240 lbs |
| Quintayvious Hutchins | Boston College | 6’3″ | 233 lbs |
| Marvin Jones Jr. | Oklahoma | 6’5″ | 245 lbs |
| Keyshawn James-Newby | New Mexico | 6’2″ | 244 lbs |
| Dasan McCullough | Nebraska | 6’4″ | 235 lbs |
| Myles Terry | North Dakota | 6’1″ | 242 lbs |
| Nadame Tucker | Western Michigan | 6’2″ | 247 lbs |
| Zach Durfee | Washington | 6’5″ | 247 lbs |
| Bryan Thomas Jr. | South Carolina | 6’2″ | 249 lbs |
| Isaiah Smith | SMU | 6’4″ | 248 lbs |
Each category on its own would trim the board down. So you can imagine what happens when the Chicago Bears combined all three together. There was probably a very small box of players they would’ve considered, which drastically decreased the odds of picking one, what with 31 other teams also hunting for edge rush help. While it is still disappointing that the team wasn’t able to address the position, at least now we have context for why they didn’t.