The Chicago Bears may not have addressed every single need of theirs during the 2026 NFL Draft, but they sure made it a point to clearly identify the type of players they were looking for: Athletes.
While the Bears were praised for their draft selection of safety Dillon Thieneman, he was not their best athlete in their draft class in Next Gen State's athleticism score, but he was one of the highest scorers of the bunch, with an 85 score.
All of Chicago's first six picks in their draft scored at minimum a RAS score of 76, making them the most athletic class league-wide, showing that the front office wanted to find the best possible athletes at the positions in which they were targeting.
2026 NFL Draft: Bears select Dillon Thieneman in first round (No. 25)2026 NFL Draft: Bears select Logan Jones2026 NFL Draft: Bears select Sam Roush2026 NFL Draft: Bears select Zavion Thomas2026 NFL Draft: Bears select CB Malik Muhammad2026 NFL Draft: Bears select Keyshaun Elliott2026 NFL Draft: Bears select Jordan van den Berg1 / 7Chicago Bears' 2026 rookie draft class2026 NFL Draft: Bears select Dillon Thieneman in first round (No. 25)1 / 7Chicago Bears' 2026 rookie draft class2026 NFL Draft: Bears select Dillon Thieneman in first round (No. 25)2 / 7Chicago Bears' 2026 rookie draft class2026 NFL Draft: Bears select Logan Jones3 / 7Chicago Bears' 2026 rookie draft class2026 NFL Draft: Bears select Sam Roush4 / 7Chicago Bears' 2026 rookie draft class2026 NFL Draft: Bears select Zavion Thomas5 / 7Chicago Bears' 2026 rookie draft class2026 NFL Draft: Bears select CB Malik Muhammad6 / 7Chicago Bears' 2026 rookie draft class2026 NFL Draft: Bears select Keyshaun Elliott7 / 7Chicago Bears' 2026 rookie draft class2026 NFL Draft: Bears select Jordan van den BergThe Bears’ 2026 draft class ranks as the most athletic class league-wide by average NGS athleticism score at 83.Each of Chicago’s first six picks earned an NGS athleticism score of 76 or better.@ChicagoBears | #DaBears pic.twitter.com/wU46qURizA
Despite the multiple impressive high scores from the early picks by the Bears, their sixth round pick, defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg, had the most impressive score of the group. The only defensive lineman that the Bears selected, van den Berg scored a perfect RAS score of 10.00, which ranked as the second best score since they began keeping track in 1987.
Jordan Van den Berg was drafted in round 6 with pick 213 in the 2026 draft class. He scored a 10.00 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 2 out of 2278 DT from 1987 to 2026.https://t.co/iW4K4xO8ZS pic.twitter.com/jestNjaHJp
Chicago may not have addressed all of their needs during the draft, or taken the positions that most fans were expecting, but with the players they did select, they made sure to get athletes. For the way that this coaching staff works their players, having the best athletes with plenty of potential, could unlock their highest level of talent to help take the Bears to the next level.
Follow Bears Wire on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Chicago Bears' 2026 draft class ranks as most athletic in NFL