Bears Projected to Trade Up For Impactful Safety in Latest Mock Draft

The Bears have some important decisions to make at the safety position this offseason. All five of the safeties on the roster last season are pending free agents, and it looks like they'll all be testing the market (barring a last-minute signing of Kevin Byard III, whom Ryan Poles said he wanted to bring back).

Luckily for them, this is a good year to need a safety. Not only are there a handful of solid starters set to hit free agency, but the 2026 NFL Draft also features a few safeties who look ready to have a big impact right out of the gates.

Ohio State safety Caleb Downs is unanimously considered the top safety in the class and one of the best safety prospects to enter the draft in a few years. He's followed by Oregon's Dillon Thieneman and Toledo's Emmanuel McNeill-Warren, who are both firmly in the first-round conversation (with the former all but locking up his first-round status with a standout performance at the NFL Scouting Combine).

NFL.com's Lance Zierlein thinks the Bears are watching the safety class closely, and he actually has them trading up five spots to select McNeill-Warren with the 20th pick in his first post-combine mock draft.

Honestly, I wouldn't be a fan of trading up in this situation. While I wouldn't mind drafting McNeill-Warren at pick 25 (I would love that move, in fact), this doesn't feel like a year where trading up would be worth it. We'd probably have to give up our third-round pick (or maybe a fourth and another day three pick next year), and that doesn't feel necessary in a class where you can find a starting safety later on. That's especially vital now that we have a glaring need at center, a position where we might be able to find a starter in the third round.

Also, I noticed that every defensive tackle was still on the board through the first 21 picks in Zierlein's mock. Caleb Banks was the first DT off the board to the Chargers at pick 22. If that's how the draft is going to play out, then the Bears should remain patient and let the board fall into their hands. Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods would be a great pick at 25, and the big guy from Ohio State, Kayden McDonald, would be a fine selection there, too.

However, with those important caveats aside, McNeill Warren is one of the top playmakers in this year's class. He's been a projected target for the Bears for a while now, and it's easy to see why that's the case. His ball-hawking mentality would be a perfect fit for Dennis Allen's defensive philosophy.

While he might not have blown up the testing drills in Indianapolis like many expected him to, he still put up respectable numbers across the board. He just didn't get any hype in a hyper-athletic safety class.

More importantly (because football is played on the field), his penchant for creating takeaways would make him an ideal fit for an Al Harris-led secondary. He would be an immediate upgrade over Jaquan Brisker (which is saying a lot) at strong safety. He would be a welcome addition to Chicago's secondary.. preferably at pick 25.