The Chicago Bears welcomed seven new rookies to the roster during the 2026 NFL Draft, which included first-round safety Dillon Thieneman, who was considered a steal at 25th overall.
Chicago also added some new offensive pieces for Ben Johnson with center Logan Jones, tight end Sam Roush and wide receiver Zavion Thomas, while adding some new defensive players in cornerback Malik Muhammad, linebacker Keyshaun Elliott and defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg. While it’s not the flashiest class, it’s one assembled by Johnson and GM Ryan Poles that one analyst believes will be the thing to get the Bears to the Super Bowl.
Over the next few days, our Bears Wire staff will be sharing their thoughts about the 2026 rookie class. Next up: We’re discussing our questionable picks from this group, who can hopefully surprise us all.
Alyssa Barbieri: WR Zavion Thomas
I’m going to trust Ben Johnson, which he’s earned, as the Zavion Thomas pick had his fingerprints all over it. With that said, this is the one pick that I continue to question. Whether it’s the third-round of it all (where GM Ryan Poles has never hit) or the fact that Thomas was a projected late-round pick or that the defensive line had yet to be addressed at this point. There were plenty of reasons to question this pick.
But I also understand the selection from Johnson’s perspective. As the Bears continued their best-available approach, Thomas has the speed and playmaking ability that likely enticed Johnson. Thomas 4.28 speed and should be a downfield threat in the passing game. He projects as a gadget player in Johnson’s offense, bringing explosiveness to the table, and he’ll likely also contribute on special teams as a return specialist should Kalif Raymond depart after his one-year deal. We’ll see how Johnson chooses to utilize Thomas in his rookie season, especially after seeing Luther Burden III’s success last year.
Brendan Sugrue: WR Zavion Thomas
Anyone else having Velus Jones PTSD? This pick isn’t as egregious as that one primarily because Zavion Thomas doesn’t need to be a top weapon on offense, he’s far younger than Jones, and the Bears have a head coach who actually knows what he’s doing when it comes to putting players in positions to succeed on offense. That being said, selecting Thomas at No. 89 overall to be a gadget option and return specialist when players such as Julian Neal, Darrell Jackson Jr., Gracen Halton, Kaleb Proctor, and Dani Dennis-Sutton were on the board at more priority positions is a head-scratcher.
Thomas oozes athleticism with a 4.28 40-yard dash and has shown effectiveness when it comes to running with the ball in space. It’s good to see that LSU increased his role so he could do more than just return kicks and punts, but the Bears need to hit on Thomas for this to be viewed as a successful pick. It’s happened before with players like Devin Hester and Johnny Knox, but it’s asking a ton of Thomas to replicate that success. Ben Johnson has earned the benefit of the doubt, though, so I’m keeping an open mind and am very interested in seeing how Thomas is utilized early on.
Mike Pendleton: LB Keyshaun Elliott
None of this has to do with Elliott’s talent, because he is damn talented but more so about the opportunities he may be passed up on in the early stages of his career. Elliott was a key part of the Arizona State defense, especially the last two seasons, during his collegiate career and didn’t find his way onto special teams because of his importance on defense.
Chicago will not afford Elliott that opportunity right away, and his selection in the fifth round really feels as if the Bears got a steal, because on tape, he could’ve gone higher than what he did. If Elliott can take advantage of a veteran ahead of him either not playing well or suffering an unfortunate injury, he could force the Bears coaching staff’s hand to play him more, no matter what.
The talent is clearly there, the role for Elliott is not. Sure, he’ll have to adjust and play special teams to start, but for what he can do, totaling 7.0 sacks last season for Arizona State, Elliott may be one of the biggest defensive sleepers in this year’s draft class. Question becomes, can Chicago’s defense and coaching staff find a place for him to contribute.
Vincent Parise: WR Zavion Thomas
The Bears decided to use another mid-round pick when they still have a ton of questions at other positions on defense. It makes it even more interesting when you consider the fact that it’s a wide receiver who is likely going to start off strictly as a special teams player.
Zavion Thomas has a ton of great speed, but the questionable theory behind going with a wide receiver will follow him around for a while. People will always evaluate him against the fact that they went with him over help on the defensive line, whether that’s right or wrong.
With DJ Moore out of the building, they likely wanted another player to step into the WR room, but this may not have been the best way to go about it. Although Thomas is a good player, there is no doubting that this is a questionable selection. They better be right on it.
Preston Zbroszczyk: WR Zavion Thomas
The more I watch Zavion Thomas and think about the idea that he has Ben Johnson as his coach and Antwaan Randle El as his receivers coach I get excited. You don’t find 4.2 speed just anywhere and really the Bears don’t have a guy that fast so immediately it adds another weapon that stretches out the offense.
The only reason this is questionable is because of where we was ranked coming into the draft and where Chicago drafted him. With a desperate need to add defensive line help that could have been addressed at No. 89 and the Thomas pick could have been done in day 3. But in Ben Johnson we have to trust.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Chicago Bears’ questionable picks from the 2026 NFL Draft class
Reporting by Alyssa Barbieri, Brendan Sugrue, Mike Pendleton, Vincent Parise and Preston Zbroszczyk , Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
