Senior Bowl Standout Linked to Chicago Bears as 2026 NFL Draft Fit

The Bears face major questions at safety this offseason, making a 2026 Senior Bowl standout a potential answer.

Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Chicago Bears checked nearly every box in 2025. They ended the season as NFC North champions and won a playoff game for the first time since 2010. And while there's excitement and optimism about the 2026 season and beyond, the business side of the offseason will create a few problems for GM Ryan Poles.

As the Bears turn their attention to NFL free agency and the draft, one position group will require extra attention: safety.

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Both of the Bears' starting safeties are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents. All-Pro Keivn Byard III will have a healthy market, as will Jaquan Brisker, who proved in 2025 that his concussion problems are behind him.

It's unlikely Chicago will be able to re-sign both, making the 2026 NFL draft a logical target to find a replacement.

One prospect who may have caught the eye of Bears scouts during the 2026 Senior Bowl is TCU safety Bud Clark, who Bleacher Report recently linked to Chicago as a Day-2 option.

TCU Horned Frogs safety Austin Jordan (1) and safety Bud Clark (21) celebrate the interception made by Clark. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

"He flew around the field," Bleacher Report wrote, "showing sticky man-coverage ability during one-on-one drills, and came downhill during team sessions to break up a pass. He also snagged an acrobatic interception that was called back due to a hold, but he made the play all the same. Clark is one of the most instinctual defenders on the Senior Bowl roster. If he continues to build on his latest outing and finds extra confidence, he'll create more fans within the NFL scouting community."

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A Day 2 safety with size, ball skills, and Senior Bowl momentum offers a cost-controlled solution for a Bears team that must find that difficult balance between Super Bowl desires and salary cap discipline.

A rookie like Clark wouldn't have to be an instant star for the Chicago Bears. Instead, whoever replaces Byard or Brisker would simply have to be reliable, instinctive, and ready to contribute as Dennis Allen expects.

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