ESPN Mocks Perfect Montez Sweat Running Mate To Bears

If you learned anything from this Super Bowl and playoff run more generally, it’s that defense wins championships. Overwhelming, smothering defenses that make the best quarterbacks in the league see ghosts.

As we all know, the Chicago Bears did not have that in 2025, ranking 26th in run-stop win rate and and 31st in pass rush win rate, according to ESPN.

So, unsurprisingly, most ESPN draft experts have mocked either a defensive end or tackle to the Bears with the No. 25 overall pick in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft. It’s hard to expect anything else after watching teams like the Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, and Houston Texans dominate in the trenches this season after the Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LIX on the back of their defensive line.

ESPN’s Field Yates was no different in his latest mock draft, but the name he picked hasn’t been a common one yet for the Bears: Mizzou’s Zion Young.

But Yates believes Young has much more to offer the Bears than simply playing on the edge and being Luther Burden III’s old college teammate.

“Pass rush is an obvious need after the Bears posted the NFL's second-worst pass rush win rate in 2025. Young would help improve the unit in a hurry with his power and heavy hands off the edge. He also brings versatility, having played some at defensive tackle during his first two collegiate seasons at Michigan State. Young's upper-body power and 33.5-inch arms allow him to power through the anchor of opposing tackles. That was on full display during a rock-solid Senior Bowl week. I could see him pairing with Montez Sweat really well.”

The top thing any edge defender the Bears might bring in as a rookie is the ability to play both the run and pass. Though edge guys make their money rushing the passer, stopping the run has once again become extremely important as offenses have begun doing it at rates we haven’t seen since the ‘90s and mid-2000s. The Bears were unfortunately deficient in both areas. 

Fortunately, Young comes equipped with the strength and length to stand tackles up in the game as well as to disrupt quarterbacks. That’s something that could immediately net him playing time opposite the athletic Sweat, forcing teams into pass-rushing downs that favor the Bears' front and strong secondary.