Special Recognition for Coby Bryant is Vote of Confidence in Bears' Safety Revamp

It appears the Chicago Bears' NFL peers would agree that the team made the right move letting Kevin Byard go and replacing him with Coby Bryant.

Former Seattle Seahawks safety Coby Bryant. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Chicago Bears took a big risk this offseason when they decided to completely remake their safeties room.

Chicago went from a starting duo of Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker to Coby Bryant and Dillon Thieneman, who Chicago signed in free agency and selected in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

While the jury is still out on Thieneman, who has all the tools to be an immediate impact player and eventually an elite safety, it would appear the Bears' NFL peers would have no issue with Chicago replacing Byard with Bryant.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler released rankings of the top-10 safeties in the league based on the votes of executives, scouts and coaches around the NFL and Bryant landed in the honorable mention category.

Meanwhile, Byard was a tier below Bryant in the "also receiving votes" category, and Brisker was not mentioned at all.

"I love him," an NFL coordinator said of Bryant. "He's a corner by trade, so he has good feet and ball skills, but he will hit, too, now."

The comparison here is Byard and Bryant, as the former was the team's main starting safety last season and the latter should be taking over that role in 2026.

Bryant probably deserves more credit than he actually gets after a season in which he gave up a completion rate of 59% and a passer rating of just 54.0 while only surrendering one touchdown. Bryant has also shown his playmaking ability the past two seasons after posting seven interceptions, including four last season.

Byard has routinely been an elite ballhawk during his career, but he has not been great in coverage. Take last year for example, when Byard gave up completions on 63.5% of his passes for a passer rating of 98.6. He also permitted a whopping seven scores.

The completion rate and passer rating Byard finished with were actually improvements over 2024, when he posted 70.4% and 116.8.

There is no doubt Byard was a good player, and a difference-maker, both in terms of his leadership and playmaking ability.

But his coverage skills left a lot to be desired and chances are he wouldn't have gotten any better as he prepares to turn 33.

The Bears made the right move with getting younger by bringing in Bryant, and it would appear we're not the only ones who feel that way.