Windy City Gridiron
The 2025 regular season is right around the corner, meaning that months of waiting for the return of Bears football are about to come to an end.
It remains to be seen exactly how the year will play out, but training camp and the preseason have provided some insights into which positions may be weaknesses for the Bears this season. Now that college football is also underway, now seems like as good of a time as any for an early 2026 mock draft.
I’ll be using NFL Mock Draft Database’s simulator to make the selections around Chicago’s own picks. I’m also biased towards Pro Football & Sports Network’s simulator, seeing as though they’re gracious enough to pay me for articles. That said, I like to mix things up a little bit, and the consensus big board provides the most accurate sense on where the draft community as a whole ranks certain prospects.
Without further ado, here is my latest seven-round 2026 Bears mock draft.
The mock simulator has the Bears picking in the No. 17 overall slot in the first round. Those of you pushing for Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love here will be disappointed, as he doesn’t fall to Chicago’s selection. Instead, I’ll look to address the pass rush, which is my biggest concern on their roster going into the new year.
Currently my second-ranked edge rusher on my board, Rueben Bain Jr. could end up going higher than this in real life. He’s a powerful edge rusher with a low center of gravity, allowing him to set the edge well in the run game and win with power as a pass rusher. He has a diverse arsenal of moves to shed blocks with, and he has good short-area quickness for someone listed at 275 pounds. Bain stands out as an edge rusher that fits Dennis Allen’s mold well and could be a good starter in the league for quite some time.
D’Andre Swift enters 2025 as the Bears’ undisputed starting running back, even coming off of a disappointing 2024 season. A new offense and an improved offensive line is enough reason to believe he improves this year, but if he doesn’t bounce back in a manner that’s reflective of his salary, Chicago might cut ties and look for another starting running back.
My top-ranked senior running back and third-best running back on my board overall, Nicholas Singleton is a talented back who brings size and speed to the table in abundance. He’s a thick runner at 6’0” and 224 pounds, and he hits the hole hard in between the tackles. His combination of straight-line speed and power makes him difficult to bring down at the point of contact. An experienced zone runner from his time at Penn State, Singleton would be a good fit in Ben Johnson’s offense.
Of the Bears’ four contracted...
