What do the Chicago Bears have to do to make Caleb Williams a champion in the near future? They've already got the right man leading the charge at head coach in Ben Johnson. They did a great job last offseason at revamping the offensive line.
Now, the focus shifts to putting an elite defense around Williams. Even though the Bears were the best team in the NFL at creating takeaways last season, their demise in the playoffs was too predictable considering they were 23rd in total points allowed, 22nd in passing yards allowed, and 27th in rushing yards allowed.
They have plenty of work to do on that side of the ball, and loading up on defense is the next step for this club toward making Williams a champion.
Bears load up on defense in brand-new 2026 NFL mock draft predictions
1. 25th overall: Caleb Banks, DL, Florida
Chicago Bears fans might get sick of seeing the name Caleb Banks in the first-round slot of mock drafts, but they wouldn't get sick of seeing what he can do on Sundays.
Banks is basically what you would get if you could use the "create-a-player" feature in real life for a defensive lineman. At 6-foot-6, 335 pounds, he has elite movement skills, explosiveness, length, and punch. The Bears obviously had issues on the defensive line last season that expanded from the interior out to the edge. Even though they were able to compensate for it, they clearly have a need for a player like Banks, whose talent and physical makeup are impossible to ignore this late in round one.
2. 57th overall: AJ Haulcy, SAF, LSU
With back-to-back picks, the Bears go after SEC defensive prospects, this time strengthening a strength with safety AJ Haulcy.
Haulcy transferred to LSU from Houston and will endear himself to Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen with his combination of ball skills and physicality. The Bears have a ton of defensive backs set to hit free agency, including their entire safety group.
We'll see which players end up being a priority for Chicago to retain, but for a team that relied so much on creating takeaways last season, getting a player like Haulcy -- 10 interceptions, 4 forced fumbles in his college career -- makes a lot of sense.
3. 89th overall: Malachi Lawrence, EDGE, UCF
This year's crop of pass rushers is pretty strong overall, and one of the best options on Day 2 might be UCF's Malachi Lawrence. He played four years at UCF and is coming off of a really strong season with 11 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, and a pair of forced fumbles.
At 6-foot-4, 260 pounds, he's got great size coming off the edge and could work with his hand in the dirt or standing up off the edge.
4. 129th overall: Bud Clark, DB, TCU
The Bears' addition of veteran CJ Gardner-Johnson this past season was a really solid and underrated overall move for them. Having versatile defensive backs who can play from multiple alignments is crucial for Dennis Allen's defense, and Bud Clark could be a perfect fit because of that.
Not only that, but he had 15 interceptions in his college career and would give the Bears another ballhawk for the secondary.
5. 163rd overall: Chris McClellan, DL, Missouri
6. 240th overall: Jalen Huskey, CB, Maryland
7. 242nd overall: Red Murdock, LB, Buffalo
We didn't intend for this to turn out as an all-defense mock draft for the Bears, but that's the way things ended up going. To close out their picks, the Bears go after even more depth for the defensive line (and another SEC product) in Missouri's Chris McClellan before turning to some special teams options and developmental players in Jalen Huskey and Red Murdock.
This type of haul in the draft could help the Bears reset the clock at some positions on defense and get some young players to build around on that side of the ball.