The Chicago Bears are an American football franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference North Division. The franchise was founded in Decatur, Illinois, on September 20, 1919, became professional on September 17, 1920, and moved to Chicago in 1921. It is one of only two remaining franchises from the NFL's founding in 1920, along with the Arizona Cardinals, which was originally also in Chicago. The team played home games at Wrigley Field on Chicago's North Side through the 1970 season; they now play at Soldier Field on the South Side adjacent to Lake Michigan.

The NFL draft, officially known as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting", is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings; the teams with the worst win–loss records receive the earliest picks. Teams that qualified for the NFL playoffs select after non-qualifiers, and their order depends on how far they advanced, using their regular season record as a tie-breaker. The final two selections in the first round are reserved for the Super Bowl runner-up and champion. Draft picks are tradable and players or other picks can be acquired with them.

In 1936, the league introduced the NFL draft after team owners voted on it in 1935. The intention of the draft is to make the NFL more competitive, as some teams had an advantage in signing players. From through the NFL designated the first overall selection as a "bonus" or "lottery pick". The pick was awarded by a random draw and the winner who received the "bonus pick" forfeited its selection in the final round of the draft and became ineligible for future draws. The system was abolished prior to the 1959 NFL draft, as all twelve teams in the league at the time had received a bonus choice.

Since the first draft, the Bears have selected 99 players in the first round. The team's first-round pick in the inaugural NFL draft was Joe Stydahar, a tackle from West Virginia University; he was the sixth overall selection. The Bears have held the first overall pick three times and selected Tom Harmon in 1941, Bob Fenimore in 1947, and Caleb Williams in 2024. In the most recent draft, held in 2026, the Bears selected Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman.

The Bears did not draft a player in the first round on nine occasions, most recently in 2022. Eleven of the team's first-round picks—Dick Butkus, Jim Covert, Mike Ditka, Dan Hampton, Chuck Howley, Sid Luckman, Walter Payton, Gale Sayers, Joe Stydahar, Clyde Turner, and Brian Urlacher—have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Three of the team's first-round picks—Dave Behrman, Steve DeLong, and George Rice—chose to sign with the NFL's pre-merger direct competitor, the American Football League (AFL), instead.

Player selections

+ Key Symbol Meaning Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame * Selected number one overall

Position abbreviations C Center CB Cornerback DB Defensive back DE Defensive end DT Defensive tackle E End FB Fullback G Guard HB Halfback LB Linebacker QB Quarterback RB Running back S Safety T Tackle TE Tight end WR Wide receiver

+Chicago Bears first-round draft picks by season Season Pick Player Position College Notes 1936 6 T West Virginia 1937 6 E Nebraska 1938 10 HB Oregon State 1939 2 QB Columbia Pick received from Pittsburgh Pirates 6 FB Holy Cross 1940 7 C Hardin-Simmons 1941 1 * HB Michigan Pick received from Philadelphia Eagles. Did not sign with team. 3 FB Stanford Pick received from Pittsburgh Steelers 9 HB Ohio State 1942 10 QB Stanford 1943 9 HB Missouri 1944 9 HB Kansas 1945 11 HB Michigan Chose to play Major League Baseball instead 1946 4 QB Notre Dame 1947 1 * HB Oklahoma A&M Lottery bonus pick 11 HB Wisconsin 1948 10 DE Texas 1949 11 C Texas 1950 3 HB Florida Pick received from New York Bulldogs 10 HB Ohio State 1951 2 QB Notre Dame Pick received from Baltimore Colts 10 HB Bradley Pick received from New York Yanks 12 WR Virginia 1952 8 HB Miami 1953 6 HB Compton JC 1954 6 HB Illinois 1955 11 HB Marquette 1956 10 E Texas Did not play for the team 1957 13 DT LSU 1958 7 LB West Virginia 1959 7 HB Ohio State 1960 7 G Syracuse 1961 5 TE Pittsburgh 1962 7 RB Baylor 1963 11 C Michigan State Original pick traded to Los Angeles Rams. Pick received from Pittsburgh Steelers. Signed for the AFL's Buffalo Bills instead. 1964 14 DT Tennessee 1965 3 LB Illinois Pick received from Pittsburgh Steelers 4 HB Kansas 6 DE Tennessee Pick received from Washington Redskins. Signed for the AFL's San Diego Chargers instead. 1966 12 DT LSU Signed for the AFL's Houston Oilers instead 1967 10 DE Arkansas 1968 16 FB USC 1969 14 T Ohio State Moved down draft order due to failure to pick within allotted time 1970 Pick traded to Green Bay Packers 1971 11 RB Missouri 1972 3 T Southern Illinois Pick received from New York Giants 12 S Iowa 1973 8 DT Eastern Kentucky Additional pick received from Kansas City Chiefs, used to move down draft order in with trade with Detroit Lions, and traded to New England Patriots. 1974 4 LB Tennessee State 20 DE Michigan Pick received from Washington Redskins 1975 4 HB Jackson State 1976 8 T Wisconsin Moved up draft order in trade with Detroit Lions 1977 15 T California 1978 Pick traded to Cleveland Browns 1979 4 DT Arkansas Pick received from Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9 DE Arizona State 1980 19 LB Louisville 1981 11 T USC 1982 5 QB BYU 1983 6 T Pittsburgh 18 WR Tennessee Pick received from Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1984 11 LB Florida 1985 22 DT Clemson 1986 27 RB Florida 1987 26 QB Michigan 1988 23 FB Stanford 27 WR LSU Pick received from Washington Redskins 1989 11 CB Clemson Original pick traded to Miami Dolphins. Pick received from Oakland Raiders. 12 DE Florida Pick received from Washington Redskins 1990 6 S USC 1991 22 T Texas 1992 22 DE Ohio State 1993 7 WR USC 1994 11 DE Alcorn State 1995 21 RB Colorado 1996 13 CB Mississippi State Moved up draft order in trade with St. Louis Rams 1997 Pick traded to Seattle Seahawks 1998 5 RB Penn State 1999 12 QB UCLA Moved down draft order in trade with Washington Redskins 2000 9 LB New Mexico 2001 8 WR Michigan 2002 29 T Boston College 2003 14 DE Penn State Moved down draft order in trades with New York Jets and New England Patriots 22 QB Florida Pick received from New York Jets 2004 14 DT Oklahoma 2005 4 RB Texas 2006 Moved down draft order in trade with Buffalo Bills 2007 31 TE Miami 2008 14 T Vanderbilt 2009 Pick traded to Denver Broncos 2010 Pick traded to Denver Broncos 2011 29 T Wisconsin 2012 19 DE Boise State 2013 20 T Oregon 2014 14 CB Virginia Tech 2015 7 WR West Virginia 2016 9 LB Georgia Moved up draft order in trade with Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2017 2 QB North Carolina Moved up draft order in trade with San Francisco 49ers 2018 8 LB Georgia 2019 Pick traded to Oakland Raiders 2020 Pick traded to Las Vegas Raiders 2021 11 QB Ohio State Moved up draft order in trade with New York Giants 2022 Pick traded to New York Giants 2023 10 T Tennessee Moved down draft order in trades with Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles 2024 1 QB USC Pick received from Carolina Panthers 9 WR Washington 2025 10 TE Michigan 202625Dillon ThienemanSOregon

See also History of the Chicago Bears List of Chicago Bears seasons Lists of Chicago Bears players

Notes

References