A Cooled-Down Review of the 2026 Chicago Bears Draft

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 23: A general view of the draft tent is seen during Round One of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium on April 23, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images

We’re over a week removed from the NFL Draft, which makes this a perfect time for a Bear & Balanced cooled-down review of what the Chicago Bears did. Emotions have calmed. Film has been watched. Roster analysis has been made.

So now that we’ve had time to reflect, how will these picks impact the 2026 Bears? What work still needs to be done? Has the draft changed your opinion on the 2026 Bears?

Here’s our general bullet point outline of Bear & Balanced for this Draft recap special.

• **Intro:**We’ll both share some general thoughts about the draft.
• **Trench Tribute:**This is our pick for the best Bears lineman.
• **Caught up in a numbers game:**This segment features one number or statistic from the draft that we found interesting.
• **Sweet Tweets:**We’re both active on social media — so be sure you’re all following us at @gridironborn & @wiltfongjr — and we highlight one Twitter interaction/Tweet each week. We’re both on Bluesky here and here as well.
• The Caleb Corner: We’ll talk about how the draft will benefit quarterback Caleb Williams before we take our commercial break.
•  You all know the story of the Three Bears, don’t you? In this porridge-themed portion of the show, we give our picks for the Bear that was , the Bear that was , and the Bear that was from draft weekend and beyond.