The Chicago Bears head into this offseason with a clear need staring them in the face: the interior defensive line. It’s a position group that doesn’t always grab headlines, but make no mistake-if the Bears want to take a real step forward in 2026, they’ll need to get stronger up the middle.
Let’s lay it out. Andrew Billings and Chris Williams are both set to hit free agency, which already puts the team in a bind.
Grady Jarrett, who was brought in last March with high expectations, didn’t live up to the billing. And while Gervon Dexter showed some growth in year two, it wasn’t enough to anchor the line or tilt games in the Bears’ favor.
The result? A defensive front that lacked consistency and muscle in the trenches.
It’s no surprise that defensive tackle is quietly becoming one of the Bears’ most pressing offseason priorities.
Enter Lee Hunter, the Texas Tech defensive tackle who made waves at the Senior Bowl. In a week designed to separate the real prospects from the hype, Hunter flashed the kind of raw power and quickness that gets scouts talking.
He was a handful in one-on-one drills, bull-rushing interior linemen off their spots and showing a burst that’s rare for a man his size. That performance has sparked talk of him being a potential target for Chicago with the 25th overall pick.
But not everyone’s sold.
Greg Gabriel, the Bears’ former director of college scouting, has taken a closer look at the tape and come away with a more tempered evaluation. According to Gabriel, Hunter’s flashes of dominance are just that-flashes.
He can be disruptive against the run and offer some push as a pass rusher, but he doesn’t consistently impact the game snap to snap. And that’s the key distinction when you’re talking about a first-round pick.
Hunter profiles more as a solid, dependable nose tackle than a game-changer. Think Dalvin Tomlinson-a player who’s carved out a strong NFL career as a run-stopper with a little pass-rush upside, but who was drafted in the second round for a reason.
These are valuable players, no doubt. Every defense needs a space-eater who can control the interior and keep the linebackers clean.
But when you’re picking in the first round, especially in the top 25, you’re ideally getting someone who can tilt the field every Sunday.
That’s the standard for first-rounders. They’re the foundation pieces-players who can take over games, shift momentum, and elevate the roster around them.
Look no further than the legendary 1985 Bears. That team had nine first-round picks in its starting lineup, including three Hall of Famers.
The rest? A quarterback, a wide receiver, an offensive tackle, and two pass rushers-positions that can swing games.
The lone exception was William “The Refrigerator” Perry, a nose tackle taken 22nd overall. And even then, many draft experts at the time had him pegged as a Day 3 talent.
Hunter finds himself in a similar spot. He’s a strong Day 2 candidate-someone who can bolster your run defense and bring some toughness to the interior.
If he’s still on the board in the second round, he makes a ton of sense. But if the Bears are serious about using their first-round pick to reshape the identity of this defense, they’ll need to aim higher.
They need someone who doesn’t just hold the line, but moves it.
Bottom line: Lee Hunter has tools. He has upside.
But unless the Bears believe he can become more than a rotational run-stopper, he’s not the answer at 25. First-round picks are about game-wreckers, not just role players.