The 2026 NFL Draft begins on Thursday, April 23, in Pittsburgh. Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles, Assistant GM Jeff King, Head Coach Ben Johnson, and others are working together to create a sustained winner at Halas Hall. As of right now, the Bears have come up with a winning plan to use the team’s seven picks (Nos. 25, 57, 60, 89, 129, 239, and 241) on draft weekend. But this front office has made trades in every draft, so history suggests a shakeup shouldn’t be out of the question. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. In the meantime, let’s look at some of the best positional prospects in this class.
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Currently on the Roster (2025 PFF Grade)
Projected starters: CB Jaylon Johnson (58.7), CB Tyrique Stevenson (64.4), CB Kyler Gordon (59.2), S Coby Bryant (65.5), S ¯_(ツ)_/¯ (N/A)
Key reserves: CB Jaylon Jones (74.5), CB Josh Blackwell (64.7), S Elijah Hicks (73.0), S Cam Lewis (60.0), CB Zah Frazier (N/A), CB Dallis Flowers (N/A), CB Terell Smith (N/A)
Top 100 Prospects
We’re using Dane Brugler’s top 100 big board at The Athletic to guide us toward the best prospects and fits for the Chicago Bears in the 2026 NFL Draft class.
Here’s how The Athletic’s consensus board ranks the defensive backs (overall ranking in parentheses):
CORNERBACKS
Mansoor Delane, LSU (6) Jermod McCoy, Tennessee (14) Chris Johnson, San Diego State (24) Avieon Terrell, Clemson (26) Colton Hood, Tennessee (30))Other prospects of note: D’Angelo Ponds, Indiana (38); Brandon Cisse, South Carolina (45); Treydan Stukes, Arizona (56); Keith Abney II, Arizona State (61); Davison Igbinosun, Ohio State (68), Malik Muhammad, Texas (87), Chandler Rivers, Duke (91), Daylen Everette, Georgia (98)
SAFETIES
Caleb Downs, Ohio State (5) Dillon Thieneman, Oregon (18) Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo (23) Keionte Scott, Miami (53) A.J. Haulcy, LSU (70)Other prospects of note: Zakee Wheatley, Penn State (78), Bud Clark, TCU (84), Jalon Kilgore, South Carolina (88)
Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn ImagesTeam Need
HIGHER THAN YOU MIGHT OTHERWISE EXPECT
Chicago’s secondary has undergone quite the offseason overhaul. Gone are first-team All-Pro safety Kevin Byard III and Pro Bowl cornerback Nahshon Wright. Also leaving via free agency was Jaquan Brisker, a four-year starter and one of the most productive picks from Ryan Poles’ first draft class as the Bears’ general manager. Even the depth took a hit with the departures of Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and Jonathan Owens.
The good news is that free agency saw the arrivals of safety Coby Bryant and defensive back Cam Lewis. Reserve safety Elijah Hicks is also returning to the mix. But the bad news is that more help in the secondary is needed.
Terell Smith is coming off a season-ending injury that occurred during a preseason game. Zah Frazier’s rookie season never got off the ground. Kyler Gordon had another injury-shortened campaign. Injuries also caused Jaylon Johnson to miss some time. If anything, the 2025 season served as a reminder that a team can never have too many defensive backs. With that in mind, I hope the Bears address the cornerback and safety positions in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Bears Connections and Existing Rumors
Since NFL Draft guru Daniel Jeremiah listed Emmanuel McNeil-Warren as a possible Bears target for pick No. 25, the Toledo product has been a player whose stock we’ve been monitoring with great interest. Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman was one of the first high-profile safety prospects linked to the Bears in the pre-draft process. Colleague Patrick Flowers wonders if Thieneman is exactly what the Bears need for Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen’s secondary. University of Miami defensive back Keionte Scott, whose workout numbers were eye-popping, is among the defensive backs the Bears were reportedly showing interest in ahead of the NFL Draft. © Jerome Miron-Imagn ImagesBest Fits and One Pick to Click
THREE GOOD FITS
We’ve spilled a lot of virtual ink on Dillon Thieneman and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, so let’s introduce some new names to the mix.
Treydan Stukes, Arizona defensive back. There is a growing buzz surrounding this University of Arizona prospect. Stukes missed most of the 2024 season with an ACL injury, but rebounded with an awesome 2025 campaign that saw him earn second-team All-American honors and first-team All-Big 12 recognition. D’Angelo Ponds, Indiana, cornerback. A member of the Hoosiers’ national championship-winning team, Ponds (measured at 5’8 5/8″, and 182 pounds with arms that checked in at 29 3/8″) doesn’t have the size you’d traditionally like, but he has athleticism (43.5-inch vertical jump) and production at the highest level (two-time first-team All-Big Ten, second-team All-American in 2025) that suggests that height might not hold him back from contributing at the next level. A.J. Haulcy, LSU safety. Should the Bears pass on drafting a safety in Round 1, Haulcy could be a good fit on Day 2. Haulcy has been an all-conference performer in the SEC (first-team in 2025), the Big-12 (first-team at Houston in 2024), and the Mountain West (second-team at New Mexico in 2022).IF I HAD TO PICK ONE: When I saw that Keionte Scott was visiting with the Bears, I immediately became intrigued by his profile. This is what I had to say about the prospect at the time:
His contributions were all over the stat sheet in what was The U’s most sensational season in recent memory. Scott played 14 games and finished with 64 total tackles, picked up 13 tackles-for-loss, collected five sacks, grabbed two interceptions (both went for scores!), forced two fumbles, recovered two fumbles, and came away with five passes defended. If those ball skills translate to the pros, then Keionte Scott will be a special player at the next level.
Scott’s prospect profile makes me think about Kyler Gordon because of his abilities as a blitzer against the run and as a pass-rusher. Drafting Scott wouldn’t put him in line to replace Gordon. But adding him to that defense could allow Bears Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen to get creative with deploying his defensive backs in ways that would confuse opposing offenses. And I’m all for that happening in 2026.
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