How the Bears' Secondary Talent Justifies the Defensive Line's Lack of Investment

One of the biggest head-scratchers from the Chicago Bears' 2026 offseason has been the lack of investment in the defensive line.

After a campaign in which the Bears couldn't stop a nose bleed on the ground and didn't have a sufficient pass-rush, the team's lack of significant additions upfront was stunning.

The Bears didn't add to their EDGE group at all despite the dire need. Now, Chicago is relying on Montez Sweat and a group of question marks that include Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Turner, both of whom were disappointing last season before suffering a torn Achilles and torn ACL, respectively, and Austin Booker, who offers promise after 4.5 sacks in 2025 but remains unproven.

The Bears did make some additions to the interior, but nothing to write home about. Neville Gallimore was an OK signing that could help the pass-rush but doesn't do anything for the run defense. Chicago drafted Jordan van den Berg, but he's a sixth-round selection and isn't guaranteed to even make the roster.

All of this means the Bears are banking on the guys who were under contract bouncing back in 2026, and that includes the secondary, which has the potential to help the pass-rush especially.

Fixing the pass-rush through the secondary

One way to help the pass-rush is to cover better. Doing so forces the quarterback to hold onto the ball longer and that buys more time for the pass-rush to get home.

"If you help the secondary, you know, they're related to a degree," general manager Ryan Poles said. "Obviously, the D-line helps the back end more often than not. But in this situation where we have good corners, good safeties, we can be in a position where maybe we can have the quarterback hold the ball a little longer."

The Bears do indeed have good corners and safeties.

It's easy to forget that Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon have shown they can be two of the better players at their respective positions in the NFL after what we saw from them in 2025.

But context is important and a lot of their struggles had to do with health and it's logical to assume both will bounce back in 2026, assuming injury issues don't creep up again.

“I’m not going to get back to my full self until I get a full off-season to really attack my body head to toe and not being in, having to prepare for a game, where I can just really take all the time I need to get my body back together,” Johnson said of his 2025 injury issues. “But right now I’m just as best as I’m going to get out of it.”

Chicago is also strong at safety. Despite letting both Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker leave in free agency, the Bears remain strong at the position with the additions of Coby Bryant in free agency and Dillon Thieneman in the draft.

Bryant actually posted better coverage numbers than both Byard and Brisker last season, and he's a comparable run defender based on Pro Football Focus grades.

Meanwhile, Thieneman posted the seventh-best PFF coverage grade among safeties last season and is also a strong run defender, so he could provide an instant upgrade over both Byard and Brisker.

The biggest question mark in the secondary comes opposite Johnson. Chicago let Nahshon Wright leave in free agency and that sets up a competition between Tyrique Stevenson and 2026 draft pick Malik Muhammad. The hope is that either Stevenson bounces back or Muhammad emerges and provides a better option than the 2023 second-round pick.

Do we love the idea of trying to fix the pass-rush through he secondary?

No, but the Bears have enough talent on the back end to make the case the secondary can help push the defensive line to a better showing in 2026.

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