The Chicago Bears used the No. 57 pick in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft on Iowa center Logan Jones, giving their interior line a decorated, battle-tested anchor candidate. Jones comes to Chicago as the Rimington Trophy winner and a consensus First-Team All-American after starting roughly 50 games for the Hawkeyes, stepping into a depth chart that suddenly needed answers after Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman’s surprise March retirement and the subsequent signing of veteran Garrett Bradbury. The move gives the Bears both a potential long-term starter and a rookie who can immediately push for snaps.
Draft night
As reported by Shaw Local, Chicago grabbed Jones with the 57th overall pick on Friday night. The local outlet notes that Jones originally arrived at Iowa as a defensive tackle before the coaching staff flipped him to center, and he went on to start about 50 games in the middle of the Hawkeyes’ line. That mix of experience and a relatively late position switch loomed large in the Bears’ Day-2 decision.
College resume and measurables
Jones closed his Iowa career by winning the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s top center, according to the University of Iowa athletics department. The Hawkeyes also list him as a First-Team All-Big Ten pick and a First-Team AP All-American after a long stretch of consecutive starts, the kind of resume that gets front offices’ attention in a hurry, per Hawkeyesports.
At the combine he measured roughly 6-foot-3 and 299 pounds with a 30 3/4-inch arm length, numbers that some scouts see as a bit undersized for an NFL center but that are paired with strong athletic testing and refined technique, according to RotoWire.
Where he fits on the roster
Jones gives the Bears a high-floor prospect at a position that suddenly became a headache when Dalman informed the team he was retiring in early March, as first reported by ESPN. Chicago quickly moved to add Bradbury, a move the team confirmed on its website, with details outlined on ChicagoBears.com. Together with Jones’ selection on Day 2, that veteran-plus-rookie combo underscores how seriously the front office treated the center spot this offseason.
On paper, Bradbury brings the established NFL resume, while Jones offers youth, durability and a chance to grow into the job. At minimum, he is positioned to be a tough out in training camp, where the Bears will find out how quickly his decorated college game translates to pro speed and power.
Scouting take and expectations
Evaluators have flagged Jones’ shorter arms and lighter frame as potential matchup issues against some NFL nose tackles, but they just as often rave about his footwork, hand placement and mental processing. Those are the traits coaches tend to trust in the middle of the line, where one missed call can blow up an entire play.
Sports Illustrated pointed to Jones’ film and PFF metrics as evidence that the Bears could reasonably expect him to compete early for real snaps. Taken together, the scouting profile is of a technically sound center whose polish gives him a realistic chance to help quickly in a scheme that leans heavily on communication and consistency up front.
Next steps
Jones will head to rookie minicamp, then into a training-camp battle that will determine whether he wins the job outright or spends Year 1 learning behind Bradbury. Head coach Ben Johnson has publicly praised Bradbury and repeatedly stressed how central the position is to his offense, calling the veteran addition a strong fit, per ESPN. For now, the Bears have added a decorated college center with a very clear path to meaningful reps in a system that treats the pivot as one of its true cornerstones.
