The Chicago Bears, led by Ben Johnson both on the field and in the front office, ended up drafting eight rookies, with three in the first one hundred draft picks, while the other five were late round fliers. After rookie camps and OTAs, and a long offseason, they got their chances in the preseason to show what they deserved. Here’s how the dev traits ended up for those rookies living in Chicago.
Superstar
Dillon Thieneman – SS (Oregon)
“The White Devil,” as he’s been nicknamed by his teammates, Thieneman paid off his selection at 16th overall by getting superstar development. As a day 1 starter, he’ll have the chance to get those snaps to unlock his abilities, while hopefully performing at a high level in the meantime. He was a national champion as an Oregon Duck, as he hopes to bring that winning culture to a Bears defense that couldn’t have struggled more last season. He’s faster than the previous Bears’ safeties while hitting harder than Brisker ever did. Thieneman could be a force as a defensive back that may get overlooked behind existing superstars Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson.
Star
Suritane Perkins – WILL (Ole Miss)
Chicago got aggressive and traded up to get pick 31 from Cleveland to select the last elite linebacker, both in skill and speed. Perkins was a 2nd team All-American despite Ole Miss having a fairly average season. It was unlikely Perkins could have gotten this star if it weren’t for learning from mentor and veteran Bear TJ Edwards, who is a fellow starter alongside Suritane now, hopefully teaching the techniques that let Edwards rack up 30 tackles for loss last year, despite the overall defensive sucking, for a lack of a better word. Perkins is the key to this defense, being the man in the middle, essential in chasing down running backs through the gap, as well as not letting tight ends get anything easy. He may be a bit undersized, but that can be a good thing in a pass-heavy league, where Perkins is still trusted against bigger players because of his raw talent and hit power.
Aaron Graves – DT (Iowa)
Graves wasn’t really on the Bears’ radar until they gave him a private workout the week before the draft. He went from a late-round prospect they would consider making an edge rusher like Shemar Turner, into a first-round grade that they successfully predicted would fall far. At 6’5 295, he is barely big enough, but makes up for it with enough strength for sure. Iowa pulled a brutal bowl matchup as a 6-6 team against a Louisville team that narrowly missed the college football playoffs.
Normal
Everyone else. They don’t need a write-up. My late round prospects vary between terrible players with a high chance of dev and decent players with no chance of dev. This draft went the way that led me to take no players with a shot at star or better after my first three picks.
* This content was brought to you without the use or assistance of any generative AI
