Speaking at the 2026 NFL combine, Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles identified team speed, particularly on defense, as an area of focus entering this offseason. The additions of linebacker Devin Bush (4.43 forty) and safety Coby Bryant (4.54 forty) were only the beginning. Not only did they add speed in droves this past weekend through the NFL Draft, they added the most athletic class in the entire league according to Next Gen Stats with an average athletic score of 83.
Which NFL teams had the most athletic draft classes in the 2026 NFL Draft?The @ChicagoBears, @BuffaloBills, @Raiders, @49ers and @Saints each averaged an 80+ NGS athleticism score across their first seven picks.See the full list at https://t.co/KG7TomIZYW powered by @awscloud pic.twitter.com/nARzxYSclE
Certainly everyone has seen the blazing 4.35 forty yard dash of first round pick Dillon Thieneman, but did you know his 1.52 10-yard split was tied for 4th best among all safeties and would have placed 2nd best among all running backs, only behind Mike Washington Jr.‘s 1.51 seconds? Or that his 41” vertical was 2nd best among all safeties? He also knocked 18 reps of 225 which ranked first of all safeties. Clearly the former Oregon Duck (and Purdue Boilermaker) was not the only athletic freak Chicago drafted, however. In fact, he didn’t even qualify as the most athletic player from his draft class.
The Bears’ 2026 draft class ranks as the most athletic class league-wide by average NGS athleticism score at 83.Each of Chicago’s first six picks earned an NGS athleticism score of 76 or better.@ChicagoBears | #DaBears pic.twitter.com/wU46qURizA
Aside from Thieneman, Logan Jones’ 4.90 forty was tops among all offensive linemen. Number one. Sam Roush’s 4.70 forty was tied for 14th amongst all TEs. Zavion Thomas’ 4.28 forty was second among all WRs and CB Malik Muhammed’s 4.41 was 8th best among all corners.
Perhaps the craziest fact of all is how Chicago’s 7th round selection, DT Jordan Van den Berg from Georgia Tech, actually had the highest RAS (Relative Athletic Score) of any player the team drafted and he wasn’t even included in the Next Gen Stats listing. Take a quick gander at the South African natives athletic profile and take note of all the elite scores. Perhaps most notably is his 4.19 second shuttle time which is FASTER than every RB who participated from the combine and would have been 3rd place amongst all wide receivers. He did this at 6’3” 310 pounds, no less.
Jordan Van den Berg was drafted in round 6 with pick 213 in the 2026 draft class. He scored a 10.00 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 2 out of 2278 DT from 1987 to 2026.https://t.co/iW4K4xO8ZS pic.twitter.com/jestNjaHJp
Ryan Poles entered this off-season with one clear goal in mind. To get faster. To that, I would say: mission accomplished. Here are the breakdowns of each player from you WCG crew over at 2nd City Gridiron!