The Chicago Bears broke through in 2025, winning the NFC North before defeating the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round and falling to the Los Angeles Rams in overtime in the divisional round.
It marked Ben Johnson's first season as head coach and Caleb Williams‘ second year in the NFL, giving Chicago plenty of reason for optimism entering 2026. Here is our 2026 preview of the Chicago Bears.
Key Free Agency/Trade Additions
Position Player 2025 PFF Grade C Garrett Bradbury 59.8 LB Devin Bush 87.6 S Coby Bryant 70.3 DI Neville Gallimore 56.6 WR Kalif Raymond 70 EDGE Kentavius Street 53.3 WR Scott Miller 57 LB Jack Sanborn 56While much of the Bears' free-agent activity focused on adding depth, they also signed a pair of projected starters on defense. After struggling early in his career, Devin Bush has enjoyed a late-career breakout, earning PFF grades of 79.2 and 87.6 over the past two seasons. He is coming off his best year in coverage, allowing just 7.5 yards per reception while recording a career-high six combined pass breakups and interceptions.
Coby Bryant is expected to start at safety after posting PFF grades above 70.0 in each of the past two seasons. Strong against both the run and the pass, he has totaled seven pass breakups, seven interceptions and three forced fumbles over that span.
2026 NFL Draft Class
Position Player 2025 PFF Grade S Dillon Thieneman 90.8 C Logan Jones 79 TE Sam Roush 57.1 WR Zavion Thomas 66.2 CB Malik Muhammad 70.8 LB Keyshaun Elliott 67.5 DI Jordan van den Berg 75Despite having only seven draft picks, the Bears may have landed a pair of immediate starters in this class. Dillon Thieneman is expected to step into the starting lineup at safety after earning a 90.8 PFF grade in his lone season at Oregon. He ranked 11th on PFF's final 2026 Big Board and has the tools to develop into a star against both the run and the pass.
Logan Jones could compete for early playing time as a rookie, but he projects as the Bears' long-term starter at center regardless. He was elite in pass protection during his final season at Iowa, allowing just three pressures on 336 pass-blocking snaps.
Reasons for optimism
Williams took a significant step forward in 2025, improving his PFF grade from 67.6 as a rookie to 76.9 in his second NFL season. The improvement showed up across the board, but perhaps nowhere more clearly than in his pressure-to-sack rate. As a rookie, his 28.2% pressure-to-sack rate ranked second-worst among the 47 quarterbacks with at least 100 dropbacks. In 2025, that figure dropped to 9.6%, the third-best mark at the position.
It's important to note that pressure-to-sack rate is not solely a quarterback stat, as scheme and the type and speed of pressure also play a role. Even so, it was an area Williams struggled with throughout his college career, making his improvement an encouraging sign.
With DJ Moore now in Buffalo, expectations will be high for Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III at wide receiver. Odunze improved both his PFF receiving grade and yards per route run from his rookie season to 2025, while Burden's 2.34 yards per route run was a half-yard higher than any other rookie with at least 30 targets.
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The Bears recorded 23 interceptions across the regular season and playoffs last year, but only four came from players still on the roster. Replacing that level of turnover production will not be easy, particularly after Kevin Byard accounted for seven interceptions. Coby Bryant and Dillon Thieneman will need to make an immediate impact to help fill that void.
The lack of a true difference-maker off the edge is also a concern for Chicago's defense. Montez Sweat generated 65 total pressures, but his 13.5% PFF pass-rush win rate ranked just 38th among edge defenders with at least 100 pass-rushing snaps. His career best came in 2022, when his 15.0% pass-rush win rate was tied for 24th at the position.
Breakout Candidate
Burden could play a significant role in the Bears' offense, but the same is true of fellow 2025 rookie Kyle Monangai at running back. The seventh-round pick averaged 4.5 yards per carry as a rookie while forcing 30 missed tackles. His 75.2 PFF rushing grade ranked fourth among the 13 running backs with at least 50 carries across the regular season and playoffs, and he formed an impressive backfield tandem with D'Andre Swift.
Key roster battles
When the Bears acquired Garrett Bradbury, he appeared to be the clear favorite to start at center. That changed when they drafted Logan Jones, who now has a legitimate chance to win the job. Bradbury's experience gives him an edge — he has played 7,343 career snaps — but he has posted PFF grades between 57.9 and 67.5 in each of his seven seasons as a starter. He has also been a better run blocker than pass protector, earning a PFF pass-blocking grade above 60.0 in just two seasons.
Given that pass protection was Jones' biggest strength at Iowa, there is a clear path for the rookie to overtake Bradbury before he plays a regular-season snap for the Bears.