![\"Bears](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-1450371865_ab1a84-e1775747517396.jpg\")
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Bears general manager Ryan Poles.<\/p>\n
The Chicago Bears<\/a> fanbase is waiting with bated breath to see which player the team will target with the No. 25 pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL<\/a> draft in two weeks, but could they strike a blockbuster trade to move up instead?<\/p>\n Earlier this week, ESPN\u2019s Bill Barnwell<\/a> kicked around the possibility of Chicago making an aggressive trade to move just outside of the top 10 in the first round in order to land one of the premier edge rushers in the class \u2014 such as David Bailey<\/a> or Rueben Bain Jr.<\/p>\n He also predicted a trade partner and package that could get them into range during the first round if the right talent begins to fall, proposing a blockbuster deal that would see the Bears send their first-round pick (No. 25), one of their two seconds (No. 57) and their 2027 second-rounder to the Miami Dolphins<\/a> in exchange for the No. 11 selection.<\/p>\n Chicago would also receive more Day 3 picks in the exchange, including a fifth in each of the next two drafts and an additional seventh-round selection in this year\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n \u201cThis would really make sense only if one of the top pass-rush prospects, such as Bailey, Bain or (Ohio State\u2019s Arvell) Reese, falls out of the top 10,\u201d Barnwell wrote April 6. \u201cThat seems unlikely to me, but stranger things have happened, and the Bears would be well-positioned to pounce if that occurred. If Poles is leaning offense, this would also get the Bears in position for (Makai) Lemon or (Jordyn) Tyson at wide receiver.<\/p>\n \u201cBy trading a 2027 second-round pick, the Bears would still hold on to the second-rounder they landed from the Bills, and that would allow them to address defensive back in Round 2.\u201d<\/p>\n Bears Could Solve Pass Rusher Crisis With Trade Up<\/p>\n The Bears find themselves in new territory under general manager Ryan Poles in 2026, in that they are no longer making their selections inside the top 10 of the draft order. All four of Poles\u2019 previous first-round picks \u2014 including both in 2024 \u2014 were 10th or better, meaning they will be playing a more anxious type of waiting game on Day 1 this year.<\/p>\n If the Bears\u2019 brain trust of Poles, Ben Johnson and Dennis Allen has an elite grade on one of the draft\u2019s top pass rushers, though, don\u2019t rule out a move like Barnwell pitched.<\/p>\n Poles has made trades with two of his previous first-round picks: the No. 1 pick in 2023 that he shipped to Carolina for a blockbuster haul and the No. 9 pick that he received in that deal, which he sent to Philadelphia on draft night to move back one spot to No. 10.<\/p>\n Notably, though, Poles admitted after 2024\u2019s first round that he almost did \u201csomething crazy\u201d<\/a> and moved up from No. 9 overall for Rome Odunze<\/a>, who fell to them anyway. He knew another playmaking wide receiver would be essential for Caleb Williams<\/a>\u2018 growth.<\/p>\n Similarly, Poles might feel that a blue-chip prospect \u2014 if any of the edges fall into that category on the Bears\u2019 draft board \u2014 could help solve the team\u2019s pass-rushing crisis. The Bears ranked 21st in the league in sacks per passing attempt and finished 31st in pass-rush win rate (29%) as a team during the 2025 season, according to ESPN Analytics<\/a>.<\/p>\n Will David Bailey or Rueben Bain Jr. Fall into Range?<\/p>\n While the thought of the Bears trading up for an elite edge-rushing talent might soothe the worries of fans who have been waiting since 2018 for the team to select another defensive player in the first round, a critical part of the logic requires one of the top guys to fall down the board \u2014 and that simply might not happen for some of them.<\/p>\n Reese, an elite and versatile force who has drawn comparisons to Micah Parsons<\/a>, seems like an immense long shot to fall outside of the top 10. Based on the needs of teams high in the order, he might not even make it out of the top 5, as the New York Jets<\/a> (No. 2), Tennessee Titans<\/a> (No. 4) and New York Giants<\/a> (No. 5) could also justify his selection.<\/p>\n The same logic applies to Bailey, who is one of the most productive defensive players in the draft after recording the second-most single-season sacks (14.5) in Aggies history in 2025. He is long, powerful and explosive and has production that suggests he can make an impact right away at the NFL level, limiting his chances of slipping out of the top 10.<\/p>\n One thing that could factor into Bailey\u2019s draft position is his work ethic. The Athletic\u2019s Dane Brugler noted in \u201cThe Beast\u201d<\/a> that NFL scouts have told him that they want \u201cmore consistent energy levels\u201d from him behind the scenes. He was also allegedly involved in a physical altercation with a photographer last year, which could put off the Bears.<\/p>\n Bain is the most realistic trade-up target. While he is a relentless pass rusher capable of disruption from several alignments, his shorter arm length (30 7\/8 inches) has fueled discourse about whether he will fall into the teens and maybe even as far as the 20s.<\/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 general manager Ryan Poles. The Chicago Bears fanbase is waiting with bated breath to see which…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":862437,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2049],"tags":[217,7,216,251,2087,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-862436","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-dolphins","8":"tag-dolphins","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-miami","11":"tag-miami-dolphins","12":"tag-miamidolphins","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116375728898270867","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862436","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=862436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}