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Bear Digest

What the Deep Dive Says for Bears Drafting Emmanuel McNeil-Warren

There are reasons to think the Toledo safety would scare off the Bears in Round 1, but also some very good reasons to think he'd fit No. 25 overall.
Gene Chamberlain|
Toledo Rockets safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren tackles Wyoming Cowboys running back Harrison Waylee.
Toledo Rockets safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren tackles Wyoming Cowboys running back Harrison Waylee. | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

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Chicago Bears

When Bears GM Ryan Poles and coaches looked at film of their defense before free agency, something became apparent about their personnel and playing style.

"In order to play the style we need to play, that we need to be able to close on the football a lot faster than what we have been doing," Poles said. "That was the emphasis going into it."

It's why they signed safety Coby Bryant and also linebacker Devin Bush in free agency. They could run and then also hit when they arrived.

It's the requirement for who they draft to fill one of their open starting safety spots.

They're trying to fill the safety plans according to what defensive coordinator Dennis Allen needs at the position, and didn't see enough of this ability last year at a position critical in multiple aspects of play. Jaquan Brisker could run, as a 4.49-second, 40-yard dash time at the combine said. However, there had to be physical concerns with his past concussions.

Kevin Byard is in his 30s and players don't retain top speed at that age.

The MAC drawback

Using 40 times is relatively useless with players once they've been in the league a while and get older, anyway. The thing personnel people and coaches look at is how fast they arrive and snuff out the problem.

This is one of the reasons the team could look at safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren as a possible pick at No. 1 overall. McNeil-Warren fits some of their requirements for this defense, even with a major drawback.

The drawback, of course, is he played in the Mid-American Conference.

There have been 10 MAC players drafted in the first two rounds over the last 11 drafts, or ever since Khalil Mack came in the NFL from Buffalo. It's not a huge number, and all but one of them failed to live up to first-round or second-round draft status.

Half were solid or contributing starters and the other half were disappointments. It can be risky to draft a MAC player in Round 1 or even Round 2.

A fit for the scheme

Beyond this, McNeil-Warren fits the Bears' needs for several reasons. One is his versatility, and especially how he was used at Toledo.

McNeil-Warren played a greater percentage of running plays in the box than any of the other top safeties in the draft. He played in it 59.8% of the time on runs, according to Pro Football Focus and Football Insights. He was in the box on 44.5% of pass plays, which also was higher than other safeties. He's not a strong safety per se. This would classify him more as a strong safety than free safety, but not entirely.

Allen doesn't use a strong safety in the traditional definition, but he wants players versatile enough to do both. He played it this way at New Orleans. However, it's a myth that he used the safeties equally deep and in the box. Per PFF alignment count, the Saints under Allen ALWAYS had one starting safety with a greater number of reps inside the box than outside of it. Usually, it was a lot more than the other starter.

Allen's big trick is mixing coverages and disguising his use of safeties, slots and boundary cornerbacks on plays but not necessarily using the safeties interchangeably in equal proportion. He also liked going dime and with three safeties.

All of this would suit McNeil-Warren's skills. He played 909 snaps in the box at Toledo, but 663 in the slot or deep according to PFF. The Bears already have Bryant as a former cornerback who fits as their free safety. He played more at free safety for the Seahawks.

The Bears would also find McNeil-Warren's athletic skills intriguing because he is almost 6-foot-4. 

What Allen's Saints did

The speed is a concern to some because McNeil-Warren ran 4.52 seconds for the 40, but only a few of Allen's safeties at New Orleans ever ran much faster. One was C.J. Gardner-Johnon (4.48), but he was used more with the Saints in multiple roles than only as a safety.

While Allen was with the Saints, they drafted Vonn Bell and Marcus Williams. Neither came through the combine process looking like sprint champions. Williams ran 4.56 and Bell 4.52 in the 40. They did draft C.J. Gardner-Johnson but used him in multiple ways and he ran 4.48.

What's important to look at was how the position was stressed in the draft process compared to other Saints positions.

For the 2016 draft, the Saints needed a defensive tackle and a safety. Sound familiar?

They drafted Sheldon Rankins in the first round and Bell in Round 2.

They had multiple needs in his second full year, and they drafted cornerback Marshon Lattimore and tackle Ryan Ramczyk in the first round, then took safety Marcus Williams in Round 2. Gardner-Johnson was a fourth-rounder.

It doesn't appear the Bears defensive coordinator required first-round safety help but used players later in the draft well.

Holy Toledo, a Bears safety

Then again, McNeil-Warren could always be a first if they felt they could get needed defensive line help in Round 2.

As for that MAC scare, it is a concern. However, the one starter who lived up to first-round status in the last 11 drafts from that conference was All-Pro cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, drafted 22nd overall in 2024. Not only was he from the MAC, he was McNeil-Warren's teammate at Toledo.

If you're going take a risk on a player Round 1 from that conference, it definitely would help if he comes from a program that recently produced a successful NFL player at a secondary position. Mitchell was the first Toledo first-round pick in 31 years.

He's a good reason to think the second one in three years could be McNeil-Warren, at No. 25 to the Bears.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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