The Chicago Bears selected Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman with the 25th overall pick in Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft.
The first night of the draft is Thursday in Pittsburgh, airing at 7 p.m. on ABC7.
A Bears draft watch party was held Thursday night at Soldier Field featuring everything football-tastic.
Fans had a chance to get an autograph from current and former players, like Anthony "Spice" Adams and D'Marco Jackson.
"Get to the playoffs and win. Super Bowl," Adams said. "Why not? Why not us?"
The draft is ushering a season of high expectations after the Monsters of the Midway nearly made it to the NFC championship game last season.
"Optimistic," Bears fan Vanessa Linares said. "I think we had a great last season, and I'm hoping that we can push the boundaries even more and farther this year."
"We finally got a good coach," Bears fan Phil Better said. "We finally got a good QB, and I Iove our GM."
On a postcard perfect night. at Soldier Field, fans also weighed in on the Bears stadium race between Arlington Heights and Hammond, Indiana.
"Arlington," Bears fan Eri Abdiel said. "Indiana's a little bit... they got Indianapolis Colts."
"Go to Arlington. I can't imagine the Bears in Indiana. No, no chance," Bears fan Acy Binford said. "Arlington. Forever, for now, whatever."
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When it comes to choosing a direction in the NFL draft, the Chicago Bears have some flexibility. And if they can replicate last year's success, they'll really be in good shape.
"We feel prepared. We put in the time," general manager Ryan Poles said on Tuesday. "When we're on the clock, I've got a ton of confidence things are going to work out just the way we planned them to be. If things start to shift and move, we're agile enough to make adjustments if that's moving up, moving back, we'll be ready for anything that comes our way."
The Bears have seven picks in the draft as they try to build on a breakthrough season.
Chicago went from finishing last in the NFC North to capturing the division championship with an 11-6 record in coach Ben Johnson's first year. Quarterback Caleb Williams made big strides in his second season and threw for a franchise-record 3,942 yards.
The Bears advanced in the playoffs for the first time in 15 years by beating the rival Green Bay Packers in a wild-card game before losing an overtime thriller to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round.
It was quite a ride for the team and the fans. A big part of that success was what happened on draft weekend, and the Bears hope to do it again.
Poles drafted four big contributors on offense last year. He took tight end Colston Loveland with the No. 10 pick, added receiver Luther Burden and offensive lineman Ozzy Trapilo in the second round and selected running back Kyle Monangai in the seventh.
Loveland led Chicago in receptions (58) and yards (713) and tied for the team lead in touchdown catches (six). Trapilo played in 14 regular-season games before tearing the patella tendon in his left knee in the wild-card win over Green Bay, an injury that is expected to keep him out for most of next season.