The chatter around the Bears has been loudest about Luther Burden III, and for good reason. Ben Johnson has bought into the buzz, the media has leaned into it, and the second-year wideout has become the easy name to circle in every breakout conversation.
But Chicago has more than one young player with a chance to make noise in 2026. A few others are lined up to push for bigger roles, and some could end up changing the shape of the roster as the season unfolds.
Jahdae Walker belongs near the top of that list. The second-year receiver barely got on the field until late in the year because of Rome Odunze’s foot injury, but once he did, he made it count.
Walker scored two touchdowns in the final three weeks, including the game-tying touchdown in the Week 16 win over the Green Bay Packers. He’ll have to fight for the WR3 job against Kalif Raymond and rookie Zavion Thomas, but there’s enough there to think he could turn heads.
D'Marco Jackson is another name worth watching. Injuries pushed him into a bigger role, and he responded by becoming a useful part of the defense.
Jackson finished with 43 tackles and earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors late in the season. He’s back on a new contract, and even if he doesn’t open the year as a starter, he should be in the mix often.
There’s also a path here for him to position himself as the player who could step in for T.J. Edwards if Edwards gets cut or traded next offseason.
Austin Booker’s late-season surge made him impossible to ignore. After returning from injury, he put together a strong second half of the 2025 season, piling up 29 pressures, 16 hurries, 12 quarterback hits and 4.5 sacks in 10 games.
Now he’s in a battle with Dayo Odeyingbo for the starting edge spot opposite Montez Sweat. In Year 3, Booker has a real shot to establish himself as the team’s pass-rushing future.
Josh Blackwell is the dark-horse name in the group. There’s a sneaky feeling that Kyler Gordon may not be 100% heading into 2026, and that could open the door for Blackwell on defense.
Bears fans already know him as one of the team’s best special teams players, but he hasn’t really had a full chance to show what he can do in the secondary. If his work on defense matches the effort he brings on special teams, he could be one of the surprise breakout candidates in Chicago this year.
In Other News...
Bears Just Got A Budget Pass Rush Answer Fans Will Recognize
With the Bears still sorting through a pass rush that came up short a season ago, the front office has been leaning on what it already has in Montez Sweat, Austin Booker and Dayo Odeyingbo rather than chasing the top of the market. Financial reality has been part of the equation, which helped keep Chicago out of the Maxx Crosby sweepstakes and has pushed the conversation toward cheaper, more manageable ways to add help off the edge.
One name that has surfaced in that kind of discussion is Kansas City defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah, a young player on a rookie deal who has flashed enough athletic traits to draw interest even if the production has not fully followed yet. The appeal is obvious for a Bears team looking for a budget-minded swing, but any move in that lane would still have to make sense on both the cap sheet and the depth chart before it becomes more than just another idea floating around. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Keep Facing The Same Pass Rush Question In July
The Bears are still looking at ways to steady a pass rush that can never really be ignored, and one familiar veteran keeps coming up as a possible answer. The 33-year-old edge rusher most recently spent time with the Cowboys, and he remains unsigned in mid-July after a string of short-term deals since leaving Houston in 2020. For Chicago, the appeal is pretty straightforward: a proven body on the edge, some experience to lean on, and another option if the front office wants to keep adding insurance before camp.
Spotrac has pegged his market value around $5.7 million, a reminder that even a late-summer addition would not come cheap for a player who was on a $3.4 million deal not long ago. The bigger question for the Bears is whether they want him as more than just a depth piece, because the fit is less about splash and more about how much help they still believe this defense needs before the real work of the season begins. [Read more 🡒]