Ryan Poles still has confidence in Chicago Bears defensive line, despite the major concern

The biggest head scratcher regarding day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft is the Chicago Bears not attempting to aid their weak pass rush.

More news: Chicago Bears scouting director sounds off on Dillon Thieneman selection

In three surprising moves, the Bears went all offense in rounds 2 and 3.

With the defensive line being a major weakness for the team, it comes to a huge shock that general manager Ryan Poles has done nothing to boost his front four on defense.

Despite the struggles and lack of depth, Poles expressed much positivity regarding the defensive line.

Ryan Poles has huge belief in the Chicago Bears’ defensive line

More news: Pro Football Focus labels Chicago Bears draft selection as “Elite Pick”

Following Friday’s draft selections, the Bears’ general manager expressed a lot of positivity regarding the weak defensive line.

According to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, Poles “feels good” about his unit and expects them to take the “next step” in year 2 of Dennis Allen’s system.

“At the defensive line position, Book’s coming along with Dayo, Sweat, Shemar. We feel good about those guys. Obviously we have one more day, so we can continue to add. But like what that group is and what they’re becoming and we feel like there is some developmental upside and like I said yesterday, with Year 2 in the system, we should be able to take the next step.”

Ryan Poles expressed a positive outlook with the Bears’ plan along the D-line despite not using any of their top 4 picks to aid the pass rush.

Poles: “At the defensive line position, Book’s coming along with Dayo, Sweat, Shemar. We feel good about those guys. Obviously we have…

— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) April 25, 2026

The Bears still need to find a way to fix the pass rush

Despite Poles’ positivity and high expectations, it’s clear the defensive line is the biggest weakness on the team.

Grady Jarrett is on the back end of his career and struggled in 2025, Gervon Dexter was subject to trade rumors following his weak 2025, Dayo Odeyingbo also failed to exceed expectations completely.

The Bears’ defensive line could not get to the quarterback at all last season, plain and simple.

And with the final day of the 2026 draft starting soon, the Bears need to find a way to make a splash.

Austin Booker has shown some signs of hope, Montez Sweat has shown he can still be a premier pass rusher. However, the team needs to find a reliable defensive tackle to compliment them in 2026.

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