The Chicago Bears fortified their interior offensive line by selecting Iowa Hawkeyes center Logan Jones with the No. 57 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. In fact, Ryan Poles may have found a new starting center in the second round.
Jones was arguably the best center in college football last season, though he was undoubtedly No. 1 in pass protection, earning a 90.2 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus, the best mark in the entire sport last season. While he wasn't the first center taken, as Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets IOL Keylan Rutledge was the first off the board, Jones has a chance to be the only rookie starting at center during the 2026 season.
Of course, if Jones is getting snaps, then someone else isn't. And that someone else is a veteran whom the team just traded for this offseason.
Logan Jones Could Steal Garrett Bradbury's Starting Spot in 2026
After being acquired from the New England Patriots for a 2027 fifth-round draft pick, it looks like Garrett Bradbury will have to scratch and claw his way to the starting center job in 2026 following the selection of Jones.
Bradbury has been slowly declining for years, and in both facets of protection. In 2024, he allowed a career-high 38 pressures. Last year, Bradbury had a 56.2 run-blocking grade from PFF. Only five centers were worse. His 60.1 overall grade was in the bottom 10 in the NFL.
Oddly enough, Ben Johnson touted his run-blocking and celebrated the fit alongside fellow newcomer Joe Thuney, a potential HOF guard the team acquired from the Kansas City Chiefs this past February for a 2026 fourth-round pick, when Bradbury was first acquired. Johnson also admitted it'd be tough to replace the retired Drew Dalman, who called it a career last month, citing long-term health concerns. Dalman was in the first year of a three-year extension, leaving a massive void in the middle.
It looks like the Dalman succession plan is a committee. Bradbury was the hedge, and Jones could be the long-term option. At 30, Bradbury brings experience, but it's clear he's lost several steps athletically since his days as a first-round talent on the Minnesota Vikings over the first few years of his career.
Bradybury is on an expiring contract, so even before the Jones pick, he was seen as a potential short-term option. Now, though, Bradbury may have to become comfortable as a backup.
More Chicago Bears News and Rumors:
Add us as a preferred source on Google