The Chicago Bears have several potential breakout candidates entering the 2026 season. Most of the attention has gone toward younger offensive players such as Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland, but one under-the-radar player who could take a major step forward is Devin Bush.
The Chicago Bears could get the best from Devin Bush
Bush entered the NFL with major expectations after the Pittsburgh Steelers traded up to select him in the top ten of the draft.
However, Bush tore his ACL during his second NFL season, and things never fully stabilized afterward. He appeared to lose some explosiveness during his third season while working his way back from the injury, and by year four, he had started to lose his role within the defense.
After that, Bush spent a season with the Seattle Seahawks before rebuilding his value with the Cleveland Browns over the last two years. Last season, he started to look more like the player teams expected when he first entered the league, which is a major reason why the Bears targeted him in free agency.
The fit with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen is also part of the excitement. Allen has a long history of getting strong production from linebackers, and there are some similarities between Bush’s situation and the path Demario Davis took earlier in his career.
Davis spent four seasons with the New York Jets as more of an average starter before bouncing between New York and Cleveland. By the time he joined Allen and the New Orleans Saints in his seventh NFL season, he had shown flashes but was beginning to look more like a journeyman linebacker than a star player.
That changed quickly under Allen. From 2019 through 2023, Davis developed into one of the best linebackers in football, earning first-team or second-team All-Pro honors multiple times.
It would obviously be unfair to immediately place those expectations on Bush. Davis’ rise is difficult for almost any player to replicate, especially for someone already entering his eighth NFL season.
Still, Bush’s background as a former top-ten pick makes the possibility of another leap easier to envision. The physical talent has always been there, and he has already shown signs of improvement over the past couple of seasons.
Even if Bush never reaches an All-Pro level, the combination of his skill set and Allen’s defensive system could still bring out the best version of his game. If that happens, he could quickly become one of the more impactful additions the Bears made this offseason and an early fan favorite on defense.
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