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List of Chicago Bears first-round draft picks

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List of Chicago Bears first-round draft picks
Summary

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Mike Ditka, wearing sunglasses, from the shoulders up.
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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 98 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 2025, the Bears Michigan tight end Colston Loveland.

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

Brian Urlacher on a football field wearing his Chicago Bears uniform and helmet.
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Walter Payton carrying a football and giving a stiff arm to another player on the New Orleans Saints.
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Headshot of Gayle Sayers in 2008.
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Dick Butkus sitting and holding a Marlboro magazine.
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SymbolMeaning*
Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Selected number one overall
Position abbreviationsCCBDBDEDTEFBGHBLBQBRBSTTEWR
Center
Cornerback
Defensive back
Defensive end
Defensive tackle
End
Fullback
Guard
Halfback
Linebacker
Quarterback
Running back
Safety
Tackle
Tight end
Wide receiver
SeasonPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes193619371938193919401941194219431944194519461947194819491950195119521953195419551956195719581959196019611962196319641965196619671968196919701971197219731974197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
6TWest Virginia
6ENebraska
10HBOregon State
2QBColumbiaPick received from Pittsburgh Pirates
6FBHoly Cross
7CHardin-Simmons
1*HBMichiganPick received from Philadelphia Eagles. Did not sign with team.
3FBStanfordPick received from Pittsburgh Steelers
9HBOhio State
10QBStanford
9HBMissouri
9HBKansas
11HBMichiganChose to play Major League Baseball instead
4QBNotre Dame
1*HBOklahoma A&MLottery bonus pick
11HBWisconsin
10DETexas
11CTexas
3HBFloridaPick received from New York Bulldogs
10HBOhio State
2QBNotre DamePick received from Baltimore Colts
10HBBradleyPick received from New York Yanks
12WRVirginia
8HBMiami
6HBCompton JC
6HBIllinois
11HBMarquette
10ETexasDid not play for the team
13DTLSU
7LBWest Virginia
7HBOhio State
7GSyracuse
5TEPittsburgh
7RBBaylor
11CMichigan StateOriginal pick traded to Los Angeles Rams. Pick received from Pittsburgh Steelers. Signed for the AFL's Buffalo Bills instead.
14DTTennessee
3LBIllinoisPick received from Pittsburgh Steelers
4HBKansas
6DETennesseePick received from Washington Redskins. Signed for the AFL's San Diego Chargers instead.
12DTLSUSigned for the AFL's Houston Oilers instead
10DEArkansas
16FBUSC
14TOhio StateMoved down draft order due to failure to pick within allotted time
''{{sortnameNopick0nolink=1}}''Pick traded to Green Bay Packers
11RBMissouri
3TSouthern IllinoisPick received from New York Giants
12SIowa
8DTEastern KentuckyAdditional pick received from Kansas City Chiefs, used to move down draft order in with trade with Detroit Lions, and traded to New England Patriots.
4LBTennessee State
20DEMichiganPick received from Washington Redskins
4HBJackson State
8TWisconsinMoved up draft order in trade with Detroit Lions
15TCalifornia
''{{sortnameNopick0nolink=1}}''Pick traded to Cleveland Browns
4DTArkansasPick received from Tampa Bay Buccaneers
9DEArizona State
19LBLouisville
11TUSC
5QBBYU
6TPittsburgh
18WRTennesseePick received from Tampa Bay Buccaneers
11LBFlorida
22DTClemson
27RBFlorida
26QBMichigan
23FBStanford
27WRLSUPick received from Washington Redskins
11CBClemsonOriginal pick traded to Miami Dolphins. Pick received from Oakland Raiders.
12DEFloridaPick received from Washington Redskins
6SUSC
22TTexas
22DEOhio State
7WRUSC
11DEAlcorn State
21RBColorado
13CBMississippi StateMoved up draft order in trade with St. Louis Rams
''{{sortnameNopick0nolink=1}}''Pick traded to Seattle Seahawks
5RBPenn State
12QBUCLAMoved down draft order in trade with Washington Redskins
9LBNew Mexico
8WRMichigan
29TBoston College
14DEPenn StateMoved down draft order in trades with New York Jets and New England Patriots
22QBFloridaPick received from New York Jets
14DTOklahoma
4RBTexas
''{{sortnameNopick0nolink=1}}''Moved down draft order in trade with Buffalo Bills
31TEMiami
14TVanderbilt
''{{sortnameNopick0nolink=1}}''Pick traded to Denver Broncos
''{{sortnameNopick0nolink=1}}''Pick traded to Denver Broncos
29TWisconsin
19DEBoise State
20TOregon
14CBVirginia Tech
7WRWest Virginia
9LBGeorgiaMoved up draft order in trade with Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2QBNorth CarolinaMoved up draft order in trade with San Francisco 49ers
8LBGeorgia
''{{sortnameNopick0nolink=1}}''Pick traded to Oakland Raiders
''{{sortnameNopick0nolink=1}}''Pick traded to Las Vegas Raiders
11QBOhio StateMoved up draft order in trade with New York Giants
''{{sortnameNopick0nolink=1}}''Pick traded to New York Giants
10TTennesseeMoved down draft order in trades with Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles
1QBUSCPick received from Carolina Panthers
9WRWashington
10TEMichigan

Notes

References

References

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  86. "2009 NFL Draft Listing".
  87. "2016 NFL Draft Listing".
  88. "2017 NFL Draft Listing".
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  92. (December 31, 2023). "Bears secure No. 1 pick in 2024 NFL Draft".
  93. (April 25, 2024). "Full List of Chicago Bears 2024 Draft Picks".
Wikipedia Source

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