Bears Want All The TEs; Draft Sam Roush In Round 3

By Jody Smith | Updated on Sat, Apr 25 2026 12:43 PM UTC

The Chicago Bears selected Stanford TE Sam Roush with the 69th pick in Round 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft. Roush spent all four college seasons at Stanford. He capped 2025 with a career-best 49-545-2 line. Roush profiles as a traditional inline TE. His strengths lie in blocking and red-zone work. That limits his fantasy appeal, but he wins contested catches and uses his frame to break tackles. He impressed during the offseason process and showed more receiving upside than his college production suggested. Among the 27 TEs invited to the NFL Combine, Roush ranked 21st in 2025 aDOT (6.3), and third in team market share of receiving yards (22.9%). He ranked seventh in 2025 receiving yards per team pass attempt (1.51) and 19th in receiving yards per route run (1.39). He is currently 22 years old.

What They're Saying

Draft Sharks Rookie Guide: “Roush dominated at the Senior Bowl, using his size to win one-on-one reps and score TDs. Then he earned a 9.94 Relative Athletic Score at the Combine. He projects as a reliable NFL contributor. A blocker-first profile simply lowers his fantasy ceiling.”

2026 Fantasy Football Impact

Roush had his best college season in 2025, but also dropped seven passes and only reeled in four of his 10 contested targets.

His size makes him a potential red-zone weapon, but Roush's landing spot is a big blow to his fantasy potential.

Chicago utilized '12' personnel on 32.6% of their snaps last season -- sixth-most in the league --, but Roush will have a hard time earning targets behind Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet.

His best path to early playing time is as an in-line blocker.

Unless there are injuries in front of him, Roush doesn't have much of a path to a fantasy-relevant role in 2026.

Dynasty Impact

Colston Loveland looks primed to be Chicago's main pass-catching TE for the foreseeable future.

Roush has the physical tools to contribute in the NFL, but will need some time to develop into a fantasy-relevant option.

View him as a late-round stash in dynasty leagues.

He checks in as a fourth-round target in rookie drafts, with third-round value in TE-premium formats.

Jody Smith, Analyst

Jody Smith has been playing fantasy football for over 30 years, the last 15 as an analyst, writer, and editor. Jody's rankings have been among the most consistent, placing him inside the top-10 in multi-year accuracy.