The Chicago Bears have given their secondary a facelift, and it should make things interesting in 2026.
There are two new starting safeties with Coby Bryant and rookie Dillon Thieneman. There are two familiar names playing cornerback. Kyler Gordon returns as the team’s nickel corner, while Jaylon Johnson will be one of the team’s starting outside cornerbacks.
But this raises an interesting question. Who starts opposite Jaylon Johnson?
This looks like one of the more wide-open opportunities for a training-camp
competition.
Let’s look at the potential candidates.
Jaylon Jones: Jones has carved out a nice career. After being a UDFA in 2022, he’s spent most of his career in Chicago and has made himself a serviceable backup. He has a chance to make the 53-man roster again this year, but if he earns the starting spot opposite Johnson in his age-29 season, something has gone terribly wrong for Chicago.
Zah Frazier: Nobody knows what the Bears have in Frazier. Heck, the Bears don’t even know what they have in Frazier. Frazier could come in and turn heads and earn this starting spot, but I think at this point, that’s a significant long shot. Frazier has a lot going against him. He’s a 26-year-old rookie, he’s coming from a small school, and there’s usually an adjustment period for players taking a jump up in competition, and he missed an entire year of his career already. I think the odds are higher that Frazier misses the 53-man roster and ends up on the practice squad than he becomes the team’s CB2 this season.
Terell Smith: What can you say about Terell Smith? He has definitely shown ability at the NFL level. His playing style is probably far more suited for Matt Eberflus’ scheme than Dennis Allen’s scheme, but there is a chance he could be a square peg in a round hole and still be the best option to start. Being this is Smith’s last year of his contract and his significant injury history, he probably doesn’t have a long-term future here. He will start if he wins the job, but the Bears will definitely be hoping someone else wins this job other than Smith. We also can’t rule out, coming off the patellar tendon rupture, that Smith isn’t the same player and misses the roster outright.
Josh Blackwell: Blackwell is largely on the team for his special teams play. When he plays on the defensive side of the ball, he’s best utilized as a nickel. I don’t expect Blackwell to be considered for this competition.
Tyrique Stevenson: Stevenson is a bit of an enigma. A talent bright enough to be drafted in the second round, he’s actually seen his playing time decrease in each of his three NFL seasons. He lost significant playing time with the Eberflus staff due to his issues at the end of the Washington Commanders game in 2024, and many fans and analysts (myself included) thought Stevenson was a better scheme fit for Dennis Allen, and we would see him blossom in 2025. That didn’t happen. In fact, late in the season, when the Bears had significant injuries to their outside corners, they got creative to keep Stevenson on the field less. He does not seem to have endeared himself to this staff, and while there’s a good chance Stevenson is the team’s best performer this August and wins the position, if it’s close at all with anyone else, the tie will go elsewhere, in my opinion. Unless Stevenson plays lights out this year, it should be expected that this is his final year in Chicago.
Malik Muhammad: Could a fourth-round draft pick start as a rookie at CB? Absolutely. Muhammad is a nice scheme fit for Dennis Allen’s defense and comes from Texas, where he’s already been playing stiff competition in the SEC. Muhammad’s biggest knock is that he needs to add playing strength, but the Bears can immediately get him in the weight room to work on that. Muhammad may have been a fourth-round pick, but he’s positioned around 85 on the consensus board, which would make his value more of a third-round pick. Winning the job out of training camp might be a tall order for Muhammad, but since he was drafted by this coaching staff, I think they will give him every opportunity to succeed in year one.
Likely verdict: While you can hold out hope that a guy like Frazier or Smith surprises people and earns the job, this likely comes down to two candidates: Stevenson and Muhammad. I like Muhammad, and I expect him to start for the Bears eventually, but I don’t think it will happen right away. I think Stevenson earns the job for week one, and Muhammad finds himself in the starting lineup by midseason.
