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The Chicago Bears landed a potential steal on Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft with the selection of Arizona State linebacker Keyshaun Elliott with the 166th overall pick, adding another piece to Dennis Allen's defense.
Elliott, 6-foot-1 and 233 pounds, started 38 games at the collegiate level between New Mexico State and Arizona State. He totaled 98 tackles and seven sacks last season for the Sun Devils, which earned him. All-Big 12 honors. Elliott has good instincts and was a team captain, but he does need to improve in coverage.
The Bears released veteran Tremaine Edmunds this offseason and signed Devin Bush in free agency. With T.J. Edwards recovering from an injury -- and his recent injury history that forced him to miss most of 2025 -- Chicago added insurance by re-signing key contributor D'Marco Jackson and bringing back former Bear Jack Sanborn. Now, Elliott joins a group also featuring Noah Sewell and Ruben Hyppolite II.
Here's what some expert draft analysts had to say about Elliott during the pre-draft process and what Bears fans can expect to see:
"A two-year starter at Arizona State (and for three-and-a-half years overall), Elliott wore the green dot as the Mike linebacker in defensive coordinator Brian Ward’s 4-2-5 base scheme. He was in the same signing class as Diego Pavia at New Mexico State, then transferred to play for the Sun Devils his final two seasons. He combined for more than 300 career tackles and was the only player from a power conference in 2025 with 90-plus tackles, 14-plus tackles for loss and seven-plus sacks.
Elliott has good size and speed for the position, with the read-react instincts to trigger and go. A high school quarterback, he does a great job picking up on pre-snap clues and meets contact with violence as a downhill tackler. In coverage, he has functional athleticism but needs to see things faster. He was the heart of the linebacker room (Arizona State’s LBs called themselves the “Werewolves”), and his uplifting leadership style will translate well to the league."
"Big, productive inside linebacker lacking the athletic traits to make enough plays on the next level. Elliott has earned praise for his exceptional work ethic and football character. His instincts and reaction time are average, though. He can be heavy-handed when taking on blocks and his execution is inconsistent. His pursuit speed to the sideline is too heavy-footed in pass coverage and as an open-field tackler. His pathway will need to be as a physical thumper who can star on special teams."
"Elliott has shown flashes as a downhill player, with effectiveness as a run defender and blitzer, but his below-average frame helps explain his limitations in coverage. He earned PFF grades of 67.8 in 2024 and 67.5 in 2025, which reflect a steady but unspectacular profile. His struggles in coverage may limit his role at the next level, though he still offers some starting upside in the right situation."
Where he wins
Areas of improvement
"Plays football on the balls of his feet looking to explode at any time. Eager run defender who wants to play forward and reads/responds to keys quickly. No hesitancy in his game, but has quick feet to re-direct and come to balance more than you’d expect at his size and aggressiveness. But more often than not, Elliott is beating blockers to spots, playing fast and putting himself in position to eliminate space for opposing runners.
He doesn’t shed every block, but he’s among the hardest players in the class for offensive linemen to latch onto and control. Elliott’s physicality into contact is a plus that should sustain in the NFL given his size and length. It’s unbelievable how he bounces off blockers and finds his gap. He has elite balance through contact and ability to find the ball while delivering blows to blockers. He does need to work on disengaging when an opponent does lock him up (finding leverage points, clubbing hands, etc). But that so rarely happens because Elliott is a constant moving target, and even when you hit him, he uses the block like bumper lanes in bowling to launch into the space he needs to occupy."
"The production is real and the football character is the kind NFL staffs trust in a huddle, but the coverage limitations keep this profile from reaching true three-down status without help from the scheme. Elliott is a downhill thumper who diagnoses quickly when his eyes are right and arrives with pop in his hands at the point of attack. His pro day timing is passable speed for a stack linebacker, and it confirms what the tape already said: he can run the alley and chase the seam, but he's not closing on sideline throws or recovering when his first read is wrong.
Run downs are where he earns snaps early, in a gap-sound front that asks him to stack, shed and tackle between the tackles. He fits cleanly as a Mike in base packages and carries real value as a green dot communicator given the quarterback background and pre-snap recognition. The senior year pass rush production deserves more weight than a stat line suggests. Seven sacks came with genuine feel for blitz timing, heavy hands through contact and a knack for picking his lane against interior protection, and a defense that wants a designed green-dot pressure on third down has a real answer built into this skill set.
Special teams will determine whether he sticks as a core four contributor or settles into a rotational role, and the leadership and study habits are there to build on. The realistic outcome is a run-down starter and sub-package blitzer whose third-down role depends on how aggressively a coordinator trusts him to get home. Drop him into zone coverage in nickel and the problems show up fast."
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears select Keyshaun Elliott: What the draft experts said
Continue reading...
Elliott, 6-foot-1 and 233 pounds, started 38 games at the collegiate level between New Mexico State and Arizona State. He totaled 98 tackles and seven sacks last season for the Sun Devils, which earned him. All-Big 12 honors. Elliott has good instincts and was a team captain, but he does need to improve in coverage.
The Bears released veteran Tremaine Edmunds this offseason and signed Devin Bush in free agency. With T.J. Edwards recovering from an injury -- and his recent injury history that forced him to miss most of 2025 -- Chicago added insurance by re-signing key contributor D'Marco Jackson and bringing back former Bear Jack Sanborn. Now, Elliott joins a group also featuring Noah Sewell and Ruben Hyppolite II.
Here's what some expert draft analysts had to say about Elliott during the pre-draft process and what Bears fans can expect to see:
Dane Brugler, The Athletic
"A two-year starter at Arizona State (and for three-and-a-half years overall), Elliott wore the green dot as the Mike linebacker in defensive coordinator Brian Ward’s 4-2-5 base scheme. He was in the same signing class as Diego Pavia at New Mexico State, then transferred to play for the Sun Devils his final two seasons. He combined for more than 300 career tackles and was the only player from a power conference in 2025 with 90-plus tackles, 14-plus tackles for loss and seven-plus sacks.
Elliott has good size and speed for the position, with the read-react instincts to trigger and go. A high school quarterback, he does a great job picking up on pre-snap clues and meets contact with violence as a downhill tackler. In coverage, he has functional athleticism but needs to see things faster. He was the heart of the linebacker room (Arizona State’s LBs called themselves the “Werewolves”), and his uplifting leadership style will translate well to the league."
Lance Zierlein, NFL.com
"Big, productive inside linebacker lacking the athletic traits to make enough plays on the next level. Elliott has earned praise for his exceptional work ethic and football character. His instincts and reaction time are average, though. He can be heavy-handed when taking on blocks and his execution is inconsistent. His pursuit speed to the sideline is too heavy-footed in pass coverage and as an open-field tackler. His pathway will need to be as a physical thumper who can star on special teams."
Pro Football Focus
"Elliott has shown flashes as a downhill player, with effectiveness as a run defender and blitzer, but his below-average frame helps explain his limitations in coverage. He earned PFF grades of 67.8 in 2024 and 67.5 in 2025, which reflect a steady but unspectacular profile. His struggles in coverage may limit his role at the next level, though he still offers some starting upside in the right situation."
Bleacher Report Scouting Department
Where he wins
- Elliott has good instincts as a run defender to quickly key and diagnose play designs, and has solid speed to capitalize by beating blockers to the spot and making unblocked tackles near the line of scrimmage.
- Also recognizes when he can shoot gaps against the run.
- Speed helps him close on ball-carriers (against the run and in coverage) and presents decent sideline-to-sideline range.
- Uses his hands to take on blocks, allowing him to occasionally use an offensive lineman's momentum against them to escape when mirroring running backs on zone runs.
- Has some power when blitzing to run through running backs in pass protection and get sacks as a pass-rusher.
- High-effort player, who is constantly pursuing the football.
Areas of improvement
- Elliott has short arms for an NFL linebacker, limiting how much extension he can get on blocks and making it difficult to stack and shed.
- Will get pushed around when taking on blocks from offensive linemen or good blocking tight ends.
- Awareness in zone coverage is poor; he has bad eye-discipline to locate threats and will lose his man, resulting in mental lapses and giving up explosive plays. Covers grass too often.
- Isn't consistent about getting to his landmarks and will drift out of his area.
- Quick to leave his man and collapse on scrambling quarterbacks.
- Doesn't bring his feet with him when tackling, leading to misses or extra yards after contact.
Jon Ledyard, Audibles & Analytics
"Plays football on the balls of his feet looking to explode at any time. Eager run defender who wants to play forward and reads/responds to keys quickly. No hesitancy in his game, but has quick feet to re-direct and come to balance more than you’d expect at his size and aggressiveness. But more often than not, Elliott is beating blockers to spots, playing fast and putting himself in position to eliminate space for opposing runners.
He doesn’t shed every block, but he’s among the hardest players in the class for offensive linemen to latch onto and control. Elliott’s physicality into contact is a plus that should sustain in the NFL given his size and length. It’s unbelievable how he bounces off blockers and finds his gap. He has elite balance through contact and ability to find the ball while delivering blows to blockers. He does need to work on disengaging when an opponent does lock him up (finding leverage points, clubbing hands, etc). But that so rarely happens because Elliott is a constant moving target, and even when you hit him, he uses the block like bumper lanes in bowling to launch into the space he needs to occupy."
NFL Draft Buzz
"The production is real and the football character is the kind NFL staffs trust in a huddle, but the coverage limitations keep this profile from reaching true three-down status without help from the scheme. Elliott is a downhill thumper who diagnoses quickly when his eyes are right and arrives with pop in his hands at the point of attack. His pro day timing is passable speed for a stack linebacker, and it confirms what the tape already said: he can run the alley and chase the seam, but he's not closing on sideline throws or recovering when his first read is wrong.
Run downs are where he earns snaps early, in a gap-sound front that asks him to stack, shed and tackle between the tackles. He fits cleanly as a Mike in base packages and carries real value as a green dot communicator given the quarterback background and pre-snap recognition. The senior year pass rush production deserves more weight than a stat line suggests. Seven sacks came with genuine feel for blitz timing, heavy hands through contact and a knack for picking his lane against interior protection, and a defense that wants a designed green-dot pressure on third down has a real answer built into this skill set.
Special teams will determine whether he sticks as a core four contributor or settles into a rotational role, and the leadership and study habits are there to build on. The realistic outcome is a run-down starter and sub-package blitzer whose third-down role depends on how aggressively a coordinator trusts him to get home. Drop him into zone coverage in nickel and the problems show up fast."
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears select Keyshaun Elliott: What the draft experts said
Continue reading...
