There are very few opportunities for NFL teams to look back at the past season and just continue on that track and believe that success will follow. The Chicago Bears won the NFC North title a year ago, rising from last place the previous year as the combination of Caleb Williams at quarterback and Ben Johnson at head coach formed a formidable duo.
Williams’ execution in the late stages of the fourth quarter combined with Johnson’s leadership and gameplanning gave the Bears several memorable victories. The Bears can certainly look back at the 2025 season and feel quite proud of their accomplishments, but maintaining the same team and game plan will not guarantee similar results in 2026.
Even winning teams go through multiple offseason changes on an every-year basis, and teams have to make winning moves in the offseason if they are going to build on previous success.
The Bears wanted to make several positive selections in the NFL Draft, and they may have taken advantage of a major gift when they selected safety Dillon Thieneman with their first-round pick. The Bears had the 25th pick in the first round, seven spots after the Minnesota Vikings. Their division rivals were expected to select Thieneman, but they went for a boom or bust pick in defensive lineman Caleb Banks.
Banks could turn into an NFL monster if he can stay on the field, but a series of foot injuries could limit his effectiveness. On the other hand, Thieneman looks like a Day One starter at a position the Bears had a major need.
Bears had major need for an edge rusher
Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images
As the draft moved along, the Bears had a huge need for a pass rusher as well. However, instead of drafting a speedy edge rusher in the second round, they took Iowa center Logan Jones. The Bears had a need for a center, but that seemed less important that giving Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen a determined defensive end who could turn the corner and get to the quarterback.
If that selection was a mistake, it wasn’t half as big an error as the one the Bears committed in the third round. They continued to ignore the need for a quality pass rusher and selected Stanford tight end Sam Roush.
This pick had Johnson’s fingerprints all over it. Johnson loves to show that he’s the smartest coach in the room, and he loves to use multiple-tight end formations.
The Bears regularly used two tight ends as Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet are both legitimate playmakers. But Johnson also likes to use three tight ends. He believes the Bears become a more dangerous and versatile offense with a third tight end in the offense.
He certainly is clever enough to design interesting plays that include a third tight end, but what about a game-changing pass rusher who can get to the quarterback in crunch time? That’s what the Bears needed and they should have used their third-round pick to bring in a key edge rusher. They did not, and that was their biggest mistake of the draft.
Bears could have made a key selection in the third round
The Bears had the fifth pick in the third round, and they used that pick to bring in Roush. Immediately after he was selected the San Francisco 49ers used the sixth pick in the round — and 70th overall — to select Texas Tech edge rusher Romello Height.
He would have been a much more effective pick for the Bears. He gained first-team, All-Big 12 honors with his dynamic first-step quickness. Height has multiple moves that are all based on speed, and his counter with a spin should be effective at the next level. He is not an ideal run defender, but he will make a name for himself with his pass rush.
The 6-3, 239-pound Height had 10.0 sacks for the Red Raiders last year.
The Bears could have traded further down in the third round and picked up an additional late-round pick if they had been interested in drafting Michigan’s Jaishawn Barham, the 28th pick the third round. He also has speed coming around the corner and he has a chance to be a solid pass rusher for the Dallas Cowboys.
Barham has more power than Height, but not quite as much explosiveness coming around the corner. However, when he gets into the backfield, Barham has the ability to deliver a punishing hit that will stay with the opposition throughout the game.
Selecting Height or Barham would have been a much better choice for the Bears and they would have avoided a key mistake.
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