LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Two weeks into Chicago Bears training camp, five of the team’s seven rookies have gotten a rep or two or many with the starters.Whether it’s safety Dillon Thieneman, who’s started at safety from the beginning of camp, or sixth-round defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg, who rotates in for chances against the ones, several rookies are already showing progress.Last year’s Bears featured four rookies as a major part of the offensive success — wide receiver Luther Burden, tight end Colston Loveland, offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo and running back Kyle Monangai. Head coach Ben Johnson isn’t afraid to put a rookie on the field for big moments.Here’s a look at the Bears’ 2026 draftees and how they’ve fared thus far.S Dillon Thieneman (Round 1, 25th overall)Thieneman’s play speed is a major trait that drew the Bears to him in the back of Round 1. Part of the team’s offseason goal was getting faster on defense. Johnson has seen that translate on the field. Last week, someone mentioned to him that Thieneman’s practice “looked like his Oregon tape.”“You can see that play speed start to show up,” Johnson said. “He is thinking a lot, and the way he’s wired is he wants to be on every little thing, so when you are like that, you can potentially, in your quest to be right every single time, slow down and … it’s just a matter of getting enough reps to where he can let loose and get after it. But really pleased with where he’s at.”In Sunday’s practice, Thieneman appeared to have a minor injury and didn’t play every rep with the starting defense near the end of practice. One day prior, he showed his range to intercept a desperation heave from Caleb Williams. He also filled the run lane to stuff Kyle Monangai for a loss.“Mentally, I think he’s going to be able to handle everything,” defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said last month. “So I think he’ll be a guy that I plan on picking things up pretty quickly.”Is regression coming for Chicago Bears in 2026? Robert MaysC Logan Jones (Round 2, 57th)Jones has gotten zero reps with the starters. That’s Garrett Bradbury’s job. We haven’t seen much competition yet for Jones to earn some first-team reps or create any kind of rotation.“Logan’s hungry, he’s got great football character, strong,” GM Ryan Poles said at the onset of camp. “From a physical standpoint, he’s in a really good place. But obviously as a young center, this game’s a lot different at this level. But we expect to get competition there as we go. Really happy with how Bradbury’s been.”Jones has struggled in some one-on-one reps, but he’s also won a few battles, too, a reminder that we have to look at the whole picture. He showed some feistiness in team drills Sunday with a little post-play extracurricular with linebacker Ruben Hyppolite.TE Sam Roush (Round 3, No. 69)When the Bears are in “13 personnel,” Roush is the No. 3 tight end, as you’d expect from a third-rounder from Stanford with his pedigree.“He’s a stud, he’s huge,” tight end Colston Loveland said. “First off. Big guy, super fast, strong. And just seeing him today with the pads on, he’s going to be a weapon for sure.”Roush hasn’t necessarily done anything eye-popping as a pass catcher, but he’s made some nice plays. It’ll be important for him to keep getting the reps on special teams to be reliable for Richard Hightower’s units the way No. 3 tight end Durham Smythe was last season.Tight end Sam Roush (87) was a third-round pick of the Chicago Bears last April. (Kamil Krzaczynski / Imagn Images)WR/KR Zavion Thomas (Round 3, No. 89)Thomas left Sunday’s session with an undisclosed injury. With Burden already sidelined, there’s an opportunity for Thomas to get more reps. We’ll hopefully learn in the coming days how minor or serious it is, as Thomas is the type of player who is going to keep growing with more receiver snaps. He has made some nice plays as a receiver.As a returner, Thomas is getting lots of reps catching punts and kickoffs.“I think that Zavion is a little bit more mature than most rookies that I’ve dealt with in the return position,” Hightower said Saturday. “… I think it’s a lot easier for him to adjust and adapt than most rookies I’ve had so far, so he’s been impressive, and he has tremendous speed.”CB Malik Muhammad (Round 4, No. 124)Injuries to Kyler Gordon and Jaylon Jones have opened the door for Muhammad to step in as the first-team nickel corner. With the second-team defense, he’ll play outside corner, a sign of his versatility and smarts, and the trust the coaching staff has in his ability to learn both.In Saturday’s practice, Muhammad was noticeably active, notching a pass defensed early in practice.“I see him going out and trying to execute the technique that we’re asking him to execute,” Allen said Sunday. “I see him playing with some confidence. I see him competing and being aggressive, and so those are all things that we want to see. He’s continued to get a little bit better every single day that he’s been out there, so that’s been good to see.”LB Keyshaun Elliott (Round 5, No. 166)Elliott remains on the PUP list with back discomfort and has yet to participate in training camp. He also missed minicamp and some of OTAs.“He’s in really good shape. If you saw him walking around, you’d have no idea,” Poles said at the start of camp. “He’s running. Obviously, there is a return-to-play protocol where you are getting back to being a football player in terms of your strength, your conditioning, so he’ll be in that.”It’s taking a while for Elliott to return, and he could’ve had some valuable reps, as T.J. Edwards missed the start of camp and D’Marco Jackson has been out the past two practices. He’ll have to get up to speed quickly, especially on special teams.DT Jordan van den Berg (Round 6, No. 213)Based on draft position, van den Berg has been one of the bigger bright spots of camp, a sixth-rounder who consistently flashes his power and relentlessness. He’s a ball of energy at the snap and gives offensive linemen fits.“He plays with great pad level, he can get in a good stance and come off and strike the line of scrimmage, and he’s got some pretty good football instincts and plays extremely hard,” Allen said. “A lot of the things that we saw on the tape at Georgia Tech, we’re seeing a lot of those same athletic qualities show up, and I think that’s what training camp is all about.”Said veteran defensive tackle Neville Gallimore: “I think he’s gonna be a hell of a football player. I think he’s growing. His understanding of the game is improving every day. I just love his competitiveness. Great guy for the locker room.”Van den Berg is still behind Grady Jarrett, Gervon Dexter, Gallimore and maybe Kentavius Street on the depth chart, but if he can be productive in the preseason games, too, he could earn a spot in the rotation for the start of the season.Undrafted rookie notes…• Safety Skyler Thomas has notable size (6 feet 2) in the back end and is getting a lot of reps considering all the injured veterans in front of him. When Thieneman had to sub out late in Sunday’s practice, Thomas was out there with the starters.• Defensive tackle Jayden Loving is impressing his veteran teammates. “He’s super strong, super strong lower half, violent with his hands, great shoulder turn when he’s able to get going,” Jarrett said. “So I think he’s going to be somebody who’s definitely surprised a lot of people when these preseason games get going, and he’s going to represent for us really well.”• Long snapper Beau Gardner won the competition, for now, when the Bears waived Luke Elkin to make room for another defensive back to help a depleted secondary. That’s a position where a team can always bring in a veteran if necessary, but it’s Gardner’s to keep at this point.