Feb. 13, 2026, 12:29 p.m. CT

The Chicago Bears’ 2025 rookie draft class was ranked No. 1 by NFL.com, receiving an A grade.First-round tight end Colston Loveland led the team in receptions, receiving yards, and tied for the most receiving touchdowns.Second-round receiver Luther Burden III and seventh-round running back Kyle Monangai also played key roles on offense.Several rookies were crucial in helping the Bears’ offense improve from last in the league in 2024 to No. 6 in 2025.

The Chicago Bears went from worst to first during the 2025 season, where the arrival of head coach Ben Johnson, the emergence of quarterback Caleb Williams and a handful of new additions sparked their magical run. But the rookie draft class also played a significant role.

First-round tight end Colston Loveland was the breakout star of this rookie group, where he didn’t really emerge until later in the season, but once he did, he established himself as one of the top tight ends in the league and a budding superstar. Loveland led the Bears in receptions (58), receiving yards (713) and tied for the most receiving touchdowns (6).

But Loveland wasn’t the only one who shined, as did two of the 2025 NFL Draft’s biggest steals. Second-round wide receiver Luther Burden III and seventh-round running back Kyle Monangai also played key roles in their rookie seasons. Burden showed his playmaking potential, where he might ultimately take that WR1 role, while Monangai was part of a two-headed monster at running back with D’Andre Swift as Chicago had the league’s third-best rushing attack. Second-round left tackle Ozzy Trapilo and undrafted wide receiver Jahdae Walker also played key roles.

So when NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice released his 2025 rookie report cards, it’s no surprise that the Bears landed at No. 1 on the list and one of just two teams (along with the Cleveland Browns) who received an A grade.

Four rookies played crucial roles in a Bears attack that went from dead last in total offense in 2024 to No. 6 in ’25. Let’s start at the end with Kyle Monangai, a seventh-round steal who ran for 783 yards at a healthy 4.6 a pop. The bowling-ball back provided the thunder to D’Andre Swift’s lightning, giving Caleb the enviable support of a top-three ground game. Frankly, that was Chicago’s offensive base all season long. But the Bears also got cooking through the air, especially once their top two picks were fully integrated into the offense. From Week 10 through the end of the regular season, Chicago boasted the two most productive rookie pass catchers in the entire league: WR Luther Burden III topped the board in that span with 481 receiving yards, while TE Colston Loveland ranked just behind him with 479. And Loveland continued to ascend in the postseason with nearly 200 more yards in two games.

Lastly, the Bears’ offensive line looked complete after Ozzy Trapilo took over the blind side in Week 12. Unfortunately, the towering tackle ruptured his patellar tendon on Wild Card Weekend. That’s a pretty rough knee injury — one that could carry over into next season — so Trapilo’s rehab will be key. But combining this crop of rookies with the significant additions from the previous two drafts (Williams, WR Rome Odunze and RT Darnell Wright), Chicago has a spectacular young core to illuminate Johnson’s beautiful offensive mind.

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General manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson hit on their first joint draft class, where the offensive rookies shined the brightest. Now, heading into the 2026 NFL Draft, Poles is looking to accomplish the same in what’s sure to be a defense-dominated group for Chicago.

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