Bears Fell In Love With a Stat, Jumped Bills to Get It

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles typically prefers a strategy of 'wait and see' when it comes to the NFL draft. In fact, he recently doubled down on his draft strategy of watching how the board falls and drafting the best player available. But when Texas cornerback Malik Muhammad fell into Day 3 of the 2026 NFL draft, Poles couldn't wait. For just the second time as a general manager, he traded up in the draft order to get his guy.

On the surface, one can see several reasons why Poles and the Bears liked Muhammad enough to trade up for him. Adding his blazing 4.41 speed to the Bears' secondary could deter quarterbacks from throwing up 50-50 balls against Chicago. He was also ranked fairly high by most draft analysts; Dane Brugler of The Athletic ranked Muhammad as the 11th-best cornerback in his annual draft guide and had a third-round grade on him.

But that's not why the Bears moved up for Mohammad. Bears' national scout John Syty spoke to the media after the selection of Muhammad and singled out one stat as the reason for the move. "When you're sitting there in the fourth [round] and a guy like Malik is still on the board, the conversation changes," Syty told reporters. "You see the 4.42 speed, but what we loved was the 0.38 yards per coverage snap. That's elite efficiency... We weren't going to let a team like Buffalo jump us for a guy with that kind of technical floor."

Ryan Poles was right to finally get aggressive in this draft

Malik Muhamma — SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Syty said it rightly, that stat is an elite number, and other stats serve as confirmation. In 2025, Muhammad allowed a 37.4 QB rating against him, which is only slightly better than if opposing quarterbacks simply threw the ball into the dirt at his feet. He also earned PFF grades of no less than 70.8 over the last three seasons.

Simply put, Muhammad had no business being available in the fourth round, and the Bears were right to move up to get him. As I've said before, cornerback is still a need for this defense. They need a guy who can play on the boundary opposite of two-time Pro Bowler Jaylon Johnson and hold his own. Otherwise, opposing quarterbacks can ignore Johnson's side of the field and pick on the CB2. With Muhammad in the mix for that starting job, Chicago may finally field a complete secondary that can shut down passing attacks.

The Bottom Line

I'm not here to tell you that Muhammad is going to be a stone-cold killer for the Bears on Day 1. There are weaknesses to his game, and he needs to bulk up before he meets NFL receivers or he will get bullied in coverage. However, the traits and technical skills of a quality starter are all there, and he should provide a stable floor in Chicago's cornerback room alongside Johnson and Kyler Gordon.

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