Bears land 1,500-yard SEC star in surprising 2027 NFL mock draft

The longtime NFL Draft analysts at Draft Countdown project the Bears to select Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy with the No. 16 overall pick in their latest 2027 NFL mock Draft.

Sure, its author, Brian Bosarge, acknowledges that running back might not be Chicago's most pressing need, but he argues Lacy's complete skill set could provide a significant boost to Ben Johnson's offense.

It's an interesting projection, particularly because the Bears already have one of the NFL's better running back tandems.

Kewan Lacy would add another explosive weapon to Bears' offense

Lacy enters the 2026 college football season as one of the premier running backs eligible for next year's draft.

He exploded for 1,567 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns on 306 carries for Ole Miss in 2025, averaging 5.1 yards per attempt. He had 38 runs of at least 10 yards and 13 of 20-plus yards, including a 73-yard touchdown during the College Football Playoff.

That performance earned Lacy first-team FWAA All-America and first-team All-SEC honors, and he became the first Doak Walker Award finalist in Ole Miss history.

Lacy has the production and explosive-play profile to enter the 2026 season as a legitimate first-round candidate. The question is whether he'd make sense for Chicago.

D'Andre Swift's future could determine Bears' interest

Right now, spending the 16th pick on a running back would be difficult to justify.

D'Andre Swift is coming off a career year in which he rushed for 1,087 yards and nine touchdowns, while Kyle Monangai added 783 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie. They were the NFL's only running back duo to each surpass 750 rushing yards, helping Chicago finish third in the league with 2,456 rushing yards.

But there's an important variable. Swift is entering the final year of his contract.

If the Bears allow him to leave in free agency after the 2026 season, running back suddenly becomes a much more interesting draft need. Monangai has already proven he belongs in Johnson's offense, but pairing him with a prospect of Lacy's caliber could give Chicago another potentially dynamic backfield without committing veteran-level money to the position.

But if Swift earns an extension? Then using a premium first-round pick on another running back becomes considerably harder to envision. That's why this projection is probably less about what the Bears need today and more about what their roster could look like next April.

Bears could have bigger needs in 2027 NFL Draft

There's also the issue of opportunity cost. Chicago still has questions along its defensive line, particularly when it comes to generating consistent pressure. The long-term outlook at left tackle hasn't been settled, either.

Those are premium positions where first-round picks generally carry more positional value than running backs.

And projecting Chicago at No. 16 would mean the Bears regressed considerably from their 11-6 NFC North championship season in 2025.

Still, Lacy is exactly the type of prospect who could force a team to reconsider positional value. If he follows his 1,567-yard, 24-touchdown season with another dominant year in the SEC, the conversation next spring might not be whether a team should draft a running back in Round 1. It might be whether Lacy is simply too good to pass up.