![\"Sam](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2234418801-2-e1773332694845.jpg\")
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Bears head coach Ben Johnson.<\/p>\n
The Chicago Bears<\/a> might be dropping hints about their 2026 NFL draft plans after coming out in full force for the pro day of one of the top center prospects.<\/p>\n According to The Chicago Tribune\u2019s Brad Biggs<\/a>, the Bears sent a \u201clarge contingent\u201d of scouts and coaches to the Kansas State pro day on March 10 with a focus on evaluating center Sam Hecht, who is a potential Day 2 draft target who tops several rankings lists.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m told the #Bears had a large contingent of scouts\/coaches at the Kansas State pro day on Tuesday with the focus on center Sam Hecht,\u201d Biggs wrote on X on Wednesday. \u201cHecht is just one of many prospects I\u2019d expect the team to get a close look at in the pre-draft process.\u201d<\/p>\n Hecht started the final 25 games of his collegiate career and posted a spectacular senior campaign in 2025, allowing zero sacks, zero quarterback hits and seven pressures on 392 pass-blocking snaps and committing no penalties on 759 snaps for the Wildcats. He also shone at the Senior Bowl due to his high-end athleticism and instinctive play.<\/p>\n Since then, Hecht has climbed up the draft boards, ranking as the No. 1 overall center in the class on Pro Football Focus\u2019 2026 Big Board<\/a>. ESPN\u2019s Matt Miller<\/a> also clocked him as the top center in the class, while his colleague, Field Yates, ranked him as the No. 2.<\/p>\n Whether the Bears will have a genuine shot at Hecht, though, depends on their other priorities and how soon they might be willing to invest a draft pick into a new center.<\/p>\n Sam Hecht Could Help Bears Replace Drew Dalman GettyKansas State center prospect Sam Hecht.<\/p>\n The Bears expected several departures from their 2025 roster when they reached the offseason, but one that was unexpected was Pro Bowl veteran center Drew Dalman<\/a>, who elected to retire from the NFL<\/a> with two years remaining on his $42 million contract.<\/p>\n Dalman played a critical part in the Bears\u2019 offensive line turnaround in 2025, operating as the brains of the operation when it came to calling protections and line adjustments. According to ESPN<\/a>, he finished with the eighth-best pass-block win rate in the league (96%) and the second-most pass-blocking wins (406) during the 2025 regular season.<\/p>\n Now, the Bears must find an adequate replacement for their soon-to-retire veteran for both the short- and long-term future. They already found a short-term solution, trading a 2027 fifth-round pick to the New England Patriots<\/a> for veteran Garrett Bradbury<\/a> \u2014 a college teammate of Bears left guard Joe Thuney<\/a>. The long term, however, is less clear.<\/p>\n Fortunately, the Bears are in a quality position to invest in the 2026 draft class\u2019 center talent with two late second-round picks \u2014 at Nos. 57 and 60 \u2014 and a back-end third-round pick (No. 89 overall). Hecht would make sense for them at any of the three spots, given how aptly his traits as a center would fit Ben Johnson\u2019s zone-blocking scheme.<\/p>\n The Bears could also consider some of the other top centers in the class and will likely send a similar contingent to other pro days featuring centers over the next few weeks. Auburn\u2019s Connor Lew, Florida\u2019s Jake Slaughter and Iowa\u2019s Logan Jones are all sensible fits for the Bears offense and seem likely to fall into a similar late-Day 2 range as Hecht.<\/p>\n Bears Re-Sign OL Jordan McFadden to Boost Interior<\/p>\n The Bears are still in the process of adjusting after Dalman\u2019s sudden retirement, and while they have only made one more \u2014 a trade for Bradbury \u2014 to reinforce the center position on their roster, they have also bolstered the interior of their line as a whole.<\/p>\n According to the team\u2019s official transaction wire<\/a>, the Bears re-signed backup guard Jordan McFadden<\/a> to a one-year contract for the 2026 season, rewarding the former 2023 fifth-rounder for his strong playoff performance against the Los Angeles Rams<\/a>.<\/p>\n McFadden started at left guard in the divisional-round playoff game against the Rams after the Bears elected to move Thuney to left tackle following Ozzy Trapilo\u2019s injury. On 81 total snaps, McFadden surrendered just two total pressures and played a meaningful role in helping the Bears rush for 160 rushing yards in their 20-17 overtime loss.<\/p>\n With McFadden back, the Bears can feel a little more secure about their interior depth behind Thuney and veteran right guard Jonah Jackson<\/a>. His presence also allows the Bears to experiment with 2025 sixth-rounder Luke Newman<\/a> as a potential fit at center.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJordan J. Wilson<\/a> is a sports reporter who covers the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. He has previously covered all levels of sports \u2014 high school, college and pro \u2014 for a variety of publications including The Indianapolis Star, The News-Gazette, Springfield State-Journal Register and Peoria Journal Star. More about Jordan J. Wilson<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Bears\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Bears head coach Ben Johnson. The Chicago Bears might be dropping hints about their 2026 NFL draft…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":808468,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,6,15],"class_list":["post-808467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl-draft","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-draft"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116217219957930844","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=808467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/808468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=808467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=808467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=808467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Sam](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2264257174-e1773332600432.jpg\")
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