Brad Biggs: There's hand-wringing over the Bears' draft once again. Let's just see how it all plays out.

CHICAGO - There was all sorts of hand-wringing going on a year ago when the Chicago Bears waited until the seventh round to choose a running back in a draft that was loaded with options.

What in the world were they thinking? Why not take advantage at a position where there was need?

Kyle Monangai was the 22nd running back selected and went on to have the fifth-most rushing yards (783) and fifth-most touchdowns (five) of any rookie back, establishing a nice 1-2 combination with D'Andre Swift in the league's third-ranked rushing offense.

It was a good class overall for the Bears, especially on offense, and the synergy the front office had with a new coaching staff was evident.

There's no telling how members of this year's draft class, which was completed Saturday with three selections - Texas cornerback Malik Muhammad, Arizona State linebacker Keyshaun Elliott and Georgia Tech defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg - will fare in their first seasons. None of the draft picks will pitch in much with the pass rush but the Bears - based on their actions - are telling you they believe they got better players than available prospects at spots at which clear needs still exist.

What general manager Ryan Poles did get was the second safety in the draft class Thursday in Oregon's Dillon Thieneman and the first center off the board Friday in Iowa's Logan Jones. The Bears got what they believe is a high-end blocking tight end in Sam Roush and a clear-out wide receiver with return ability in Zavion Thomas in Round 3. They wrapped things up Saturday with three defensive players they believe have a chance to increase competition on a roster that's going to be more difficult to make coming off an 11-6 season.

How's it going to all work out? We'll have to sit back and wait for some results.

Coach Ben Johnson was preparing for his second season as offensive coordinator in Detroit in 2023 when the Lions drafted running back Jahmyr Gibbs and linebacker Jack Campbell in the first round and used a pair of second-round picks on tight end Sam LaPorta and safety Brian Branch. At the conclusion of the draft, NFL.com gave the Lions draft a C-plus - the worst grade distributed to any team in the league. One reason? The Lions entered the draft needing an edge rusher and exited it … needing an edge rusher.

Sound familiar?

This isn't to suggest Johnson, a young play caller, had major sway in the Lions draft room at the time. He has a much more influential voice now at Halas Hall. It is evidence knee-jerk reaction to drafts are great for conversation but aren't based on anything of substance. Any grade distributed now would be much higher. The Bears, for what it's worth (not a lot), got an A-minus grade at the time for their 2023 class that was headed by right tackle Darnell Wright and included defensive tackles Gervon Dexter Sr. and Zacch Pickens and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson.

A year ago, it looked as if the Bears were going to get running back TreVeyon Henderson with the first of their three Round 2 choices. The New England Patriots snagged Henderson the pick before the Bears were up. Instead of going horizontally across their board for the next running back, the team stayed in the same stack and chose wide receiver Luther Burden III. The value didn't align with the player until they got to Monangai, who worked out pretty well.

For an edge rusher to come in Round 2 when the Bears chose Iowa center Logan Jones, they would have had to have gone horizontally - meaning to a cluster of lower-graded players. They went with the higher-graded player at a position that is of high value to them. In Round 3, the edge rushers people felt could step in and make an impact were long gone. Johnson perked up when asked about Roush and his blocking ability. As Colston Loveland developed last season and quarterback Caleb Williams got more comfortable in the scheme, the Bears leaned hard into personnel with two and three tight ends. It's really one of the unique things about Johnson's offense.

None of this de-emphasizes the significance of the pass rush or glosses over inefficiencies in getting after the quarterback last season when they ranked 21st in sacks per pass attempt. Maybe there's a move to make down the road.

"We're certainly going to coach better than we did a year ago," Johnson said. "It starts there. We've made a concerted effort in how we're going to get that done. We were excited about the guys that ended up finishing the season on IR, the trajectory they were on both Dayo (Odeyingbo) and Shemar (Turner). When you look at it from the start of the season to the point where they both got injured, we saw growth.

"I think (Montez) Sweat had one of his better years in the NFL, whether that shows up in the sack total or not, he's a very complete player. And I think you saw tremendous growth from (Austin) Booker when we were finally able to get him back as well. Combination of us being able to coach better and those guys taking the next step as part of this system, I think we've got some pretty good pieces to work with."

One option would have been to trade up to the top of Round 2. That would have come close to costing the Bears both of their second-round picks (Nos. 57 and 60), and they would have been getting a player they viewed as a project. That's what it was like at No. 25, too, when they chose Thieneman, if you take a close look at it. Get the second safety on the board or roll the dice on an edge rusher who is still available because of question marks.

If the collection of Jones, Roush and Thomas isn't helpful and if the Bears didn't find a player Saturday who can pitch in, it won't be viewed as a good draft in a couple of years. If a handful of the defensive linemen drafted after Thieneman and into the early part of Round 2 hit it big, they missed on a chance to add a pass rusher.

That Lions draft from three years ago has created all sorts of problems for the Lions - how does the team pay all of the players and keep the group together? That's a dream scenario for any draft, whether it includes an edge rusher or not.

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This story was originally published April 25, 2026 at 9:42 PM.