While it may feel slightly premature for you or I to be looking ahead toward next April’s NFL Draft, for the decision-makers around the league who will have a hand in making these potential franchise-altering selections, it’s never too early to start doing your homework. By that logic, it’s only fair that we consider Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles to be one of the league’s more studious front office figures.
With the Bears not taking the field in Week 6 until Monday night, Ryan Poles was able to use his Saturday to take a short trip from Chicago to Champaign to watch a top 25 matchup in the Big Ten that featured a handful of players who will be heading to the National Football League next spring.
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler shared on social media that Ryan Poles — and Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort — were both in attendance for the Ohio State vs. Illinois game, which looked at least semi-interesting on paper before kickoff but turned into a Buckeyes blowout win pretty quickly, continuing a season-long trend for the top-ranked team in the country.
Brugler, who does extensive draft work for The Athletic, noted that six of his top 100 defensive prospects were on the field at Gies Memorial Stadium, and given the struggles that the Bears have had on this side of the ball so far in 2025, it would be reasonable to assume that Poles was keeping an eye on some of those guys.
Who are these six players and what is the range that the Bears would need to be picking in during the 2026 NFL Draft to have a shot at each of these standouts? Let’s take a look:
Who Might Ryan Poles Have Been Scouting on Saturday?
Caleb Downs (Safety, Ohio State – PFF Rank: 2)
The only time in league history that a defensive back was selected with the 1st overall pick in the NFL Draft was way back in 1956 when the Pittsburgh Steelers made Colorado A&M’s Gary Glick the answer to this obscure trivia question. Interestingly, the Steelers primarily used Glick for kicking duties his first two seasons before shifting him exclusively to defensive back duties in year three.
Caleb Downs will not be playing kicker once he departs for the pros, nor will be used sparingly at his preferred position of safety for the first two years of his career. He could, however, become the second defensive back to be selected 1st overall in the NFL Draft. He’s that impactful, and with the way the game of football has evolved over the years, it makes sense that Downs would potentially be the guy to buck this six-decade-long trend.
Unless the Bears season goes sideways in a truly stunning and catastrophic way, Chicago won’t be in play for Downs next April.
Arvell Reese (Linebacker, Ohio State – PFF Rank: 11)
One of the fastest-rising prospects of the 2025 college football season, Arvell Reese is a versatile, explosive and heady middle linebacker who has been the best Buckeye defender on a defense that is stacked with players who will be playing on Sunday’s soon enough.
Teams picking in the top ten of the Draft may end up being scared away from Reese just because there isn’t a ton of value in the traditional linebacker position, which hurts my heart a little bit because throughout my preteen and teen years playing football I was a linebacker. With that said, if Chicago is picking in the teens and Reese is on the board, it’s absolutely a pick that the Bears should consider making.
Sure, Tremaine Edmunds (under contract through the 2026 season) and TJ Edwards (2027) will remain in the picture, and there’s optimism at Halas Hall that Ruben Hyppolite was a steal in the 2025 Draft, but if you’re looking for the next Monster of the Midway, Reese would be one hell of a guy to step into that role.
Kayden McDonald (Defensive Tackle, Ohio State – PFF Rank: 38)
The Grady Jarrett experience hasn’t yet yielded a promising return, we’re still waiting on the Gervon Dexter breakout, and Shemar Turner — the 62nd overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft who has logged just 39 total snaps through four Bears games this season — has been M.I.A. In other words, the Bears need help along the interior of their defensive line, and Kayden McDonald would be a suitable reinforcement.
In addition to being the human embodiment of the proverbial ‘immovable object,’ McDonald is considered to be a high-character locker room leader in Columbus, and you can’t have too many of those kind of guys on your roster. Depending on how the season progresses and how he tests at the Combine, McDonald could be end up being a late 1st Round pick, though Chicago could potentially target him in Round 2.
Sonny Styles (Linebacker, Ohio State – PFF Rank: 41)
My namesake is a converted safety playing linebacker at a high level for the Buckeyes, so there are some concerns about his ability to pick up the nuances of the position. However, I would be willing to bet that Styles is a pre-draft riser and he projects to be one of the best athletes in the class at his position.
“At 6-4 1/2, 243 pounds, he (Styles) broad jumped 11-0, vertical jumped 40 inches and squatted 675 pounds,” The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman wrote in his annual Freaks List column back in August. “His body fat is 10 percent. If not for Jeremiah Smith, Styles would be the Buckeyes’ biggest Freak.”
Styles won’t turn 21 years old until November, so he still has plenty of time to develop. If he comes out for the 2026 NFL Draft, it’s hard to envision he’ll slip into Round 3.
Gabe Jacas (Edge, Illinois – PFF Rank: 51)
A former All-State high school wrestler in Florida, Gabe Jacas uses those skills to his advantage, flashing great hand technique and powerful burst coming off the edge. He’s still a little raw, but by all accounts a tireless worker who has remade his body significantly from the end of the 2024 season.
“Gabe Jacas is the definition of work ethic and dedication. Football has become his lifestyle. From early morning workouts to late afternoon workouts,” Illinois strength coach Tank Wright told Feldman. “He has lost over seven percent of his body fat from last season to the start of this season.”
The Bears need some juice coming off the edge, and the local product could give them just that as a 2nd or 3rd Round pick.
Davison Igbinosun (Cornerback, Ohio State – PFF Rank: 156)
Although Davison Igbinosun presently projects as a day three pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, he’s already carrying himself like a top-tier corner, talking all kinds of trash following the Buckeyes win on Saturday. When Igbinosun was told that he had four pass breakups versus the Illini, the senior corner issued a warning to opposing quarterbacks:
“Stop throwing at me.”
This is the kind of energy I want in a Bears defensive backs room that could use some depth behind Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson and Kyler Gordon.
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