INDIANAPOLIS – Coach Ben Johnson enjoys participating in the Bears' pre-draft preparation process, especially the formal interviews at the NFL Combine.
"I like to gain as much information as I can about these prospects," Johnson told ChicagoBears.com. "It's beyond just the measurables as far as I'm concerned. You try to dive into why a guy loves the game of football and how he can best help your team.
"Whenever I see a player's tape hop on, man, [I think], 'How can we use this guy's skill set and what would he bring to the table for us?' That's what gets me excited is just going through that exercise with everybody."
The Bears would love to replicate in this year's draft what they accomplished last year when they chose three players that blossomed into key contributors on a resurgent offense that led the team to the NFC North title.
First-round tight end Colston Loveland became the first rookie to lead the Bears in receiving since Willie Gault in 1983, catching 58 passes for 782 yards and six touchdowns. The No. 10 pick in the draft also became the first tight end in NFL history to record at least eight receptions and 100 yards in a postseason game.
During a Pro Day visit with the Bears last year at Michigan, Loveland was asked to pick his best game to dissect on tape. According to recently promoted assistant general manager Jeff King, Loveland paused for a few seconds and then said, "Pick any of them; they're all good."
"With Colston, it was more the Pro Day visit we had with him," Johnson said. "We knew right away just how he was wired."
Second-round receiver Luther Burden III developed into an integral part of the offense over the second half of last season, regularly displaying big-play ability and run-after-catch skills. After averaging 1.9 receptions for 24.4 yards in his first seven games, he averaged 4.3 catches for 60.1 yards in his final eight contests.
Burden's best outing came Dec. 28 in San Francisco when he established career highs with eight receptions and 138 yards, including a 35-yard TD.
Seventh-round running back Kyle Monangai also emerged as a consistent playmaker, rushing for 783 yards and five TDs on 169 carries. With veteran D'Andre Swift compiling a career-high 1,087 yards, the Bears were the NFL's only team that had two players both run for at least 750 yards.
In a victory over the Bengals, Monangai joined Payton as the only players in franchise history with at least 26 rushes and 176 yards in a game. Later in the season in a win over the Eagles, Monangai (130) and Swift (125) became the first tandem in Bears history to both rush for at least 125 yards.
In 2025, Monangai (947), Loveland (711) and Burden (689) enabled the Bears to become the first NFL team in the Super Bowl era to have three rookies all compile at least 650 yards from scrimmage.
"Luther was a guy that we kind of got on a little bit later," Johnson said. "I don't believe we had him in for a formal [visit] last year and yet we felt really good about going through that process, just who he was as a person and how he could help us. The same thing with Kyle. Felt really good about all three of those guys when we drafted them and excited about their futures right now."
Starting from scratch
Johnson expanded on the comment he made at his end-of-season press conference when he said that the Bears would be unable to build off their 2025 success and instead go back to square one in 2026.
"The intent of that message is more so we should not feel complacent," he said. "We've got to get right back to work and, if anything, we have to work harder if we want to experience more success in the postseason. It's going to be harder for us to get back there to start with and it's going to be even harder for us to go beyond where we got. That's really the whole message there for our players to understand, that this is just the tip of the iceberg and if we want the whole enchilada we're going to have to give more than what we gave."
