Is Ryan Poles mulling a trade up from No. 25 in the 2026 NFL Draft?

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 01: Kadyn Proctor of the Alabama Crimson Tide during the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 01, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) | Getty Images

We’re a little over a week out from the Chicago Bears making their first selection of the 2026 NFL Draft, and the landscape has changed a lot since the end of last season.

Well…not in the sense that the Bears still need starting-caliber defensive talent. Because they definitely do. Badly.

But free agency, plus the second-round pick the Bears added in the DJ Moore trade, has opened up the Bears’ draft possibilities at No. 25. That might even include making a move…up.

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell suggested it might not be as far-fetched as people might think in his latest piece.

“General manager Ryan Poles has been aggressive in rebuilding a defense that struggled for consistency a year ago, moving on from starters such as Jaquan Brisker, Kevin Byard III and Tremaine Edmunds. The likes of Devin Bush and Coby Bryant were signed as replacements, but there’s still a need to address the defensive line. …

“Poles was able to extract a strong return for DJ Moore from the Bills, landing a second-round pick for a player the Bears probably wanted to dump for cash and cap purposes. The Bears have pick Nos. 25, 57, 60 and 89 over the first two days of the draft, and though they shouldn’t be treating this as an all-in opportunity, this regime has a chance to move up and target a much-needed difference-maker up front. By the Jimmy Johnson chart, packaging No. 25 with the 60th pick they landed from the Bills should be enough to get the Bears up to No. 16, where the Jets could be interested in trading down and adding more selections. They would also jump the Lions in the process, a division rival who should be looking at edge rushers with their first selection. There’s nothing wrong with staying put and holding on to both second-rounders, of course, but this could be an opportunity for Poles to both hit his biggest position of need and steal an opportunity away from a divisional foe in the process.”

Personally, I would say trading up in this draft might not be the play given that it’s a pretty well-rounded class at a number of positions. Unless the Bears are confident the player they’d be getting at a jump up to, say, No. 16 will, A. not be there at No. 25, and B. have a markedly greater impact than the players left on the board, they should probably sit tight (or, if anything, trade back).

That said, it’s worth wondering whom the Bears might consider a move up for if they truly were weighing that option.

A defensive lineman? Maybe if it’s Peter Woods, but there’s a chance he might slip to 25. Plus, there are other interior defenders you could get there.

Edge? Possibly. If you think T.J. Parker is plug-and-play and you just have to pair him with Montez Sweat, I can see that.

But my money would probably be more on offensive tackle than anything in that scenario. Right now, the Bears have a lot of bodies that can, theoretically, play the position in 2026. However, no one really believes Braxton Jones, Jedrick Wills, Theo Benedet, or Kiran Amegadjie are the left tackle of the future. So if one you like slips into your range—a lot of pundits are starting to come around on the idea of Kadyn Proctor, for instance—that could indeed be worth packaging one of your seconds to move up. Because odds are much smaller that you’ll find a Day 1 starter after, well, Day 1 of the draft.

If you do that, though, you’d best not miss. Because Caleb Williams’ future is too important to miss, and because you very well likely could’ve gotten a very good player with the pick you gave up.

Then again, that’s what the NFL Draft is all about. Every move is a roll of the dice. With the Bears very much in “win-now” mode, they can’t afford too many major mistakes.