The Bears opened the draft by selecting Michigan tight end Colston Loveland in the first round (No. 10) Thursday night. On Friday night, they made three second-round choices for the first time in the 90-year history of the draft, picking Missouri receiver Luther Burden III (No. 39), Boston College offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo (No. 56) and Texas A&M defensive tackle Shemar Turner (No. 62).

On Saturday, they selected Maryland linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II in the fourth round (No. 132), Texas-San Antonio cornerback Zah Frazier in the fifth (No. 169), Michigan State offensive lineman Luke Newman in the sixth (No. 195) and Rutgers running back Kyle Monangai in the seventh (No. 233).

Coach Ben Johnson praised Poles for sticking to the draft plan.

“To Ryan’s credit, he stayed as disciplined as I’ve ever seen in terms of staying true to how we set it up,” Johnson said. “Sometimes that gets hard, sometimes you want to pick for need, but we didn’t necessarily do that. I feel really good about the direction we went and every decision we made along the way.”

Picking the best available players enabled the Bears to add depth and increase competition for roster spots and playing time—something that Johnson has emphasized since the start of the offseason program.

“We talked about it the moment the players got back in the building [April 7],” Johnson said. “It was going to be a competitive environment. There is no depth chart right now. If you want to play, you’ve got to go earn it. If you want a role, you’ve got to go earn it. They know that. We were very straightforward and honest with them when they came in the building.

“I think all we did this weekend is we might’ve just turned up the notch a couple of dials for certain people in this building. That’s a good thing. That’s a healthy thing. That’s where you bring out the best not only in your team but in each individual.”

It will be particularly interesting to watch what transpires on offense with only one football and an array of playmakers that includes receivers DJ Moore, Rome Odunze and Burden as well as tight ends Cole Kmet and Loveland.

“I’m going to be curious to see what guys look like when the ball’s not in their hands on offense,” Johnson said. “We have a lot of weapons. So how are you going to run your route when you might not be No. 1 in the progression? How are you going to block for your teammate when he has the ball? Because when you do those things right, then as a coaching staff, we’re going to want to get you the ball a little bit more. It all ties together. It all goes hand-in-hand, and that’s the beauty behind it.”