The Case for CB at 25

As we do every year, we take a look at the Bears’ first-round pick and the different positions the team needs, and what would make sense for the team to do. As a reminder, I will go through multiple positional cases for the 25th pick, making the case does not necessarily mean I believe this is what the Bears should do, simply laying out the reasons as to why this pick makes sense.

We’ve already discussed safety; it’s time to discuss cornerback.

This is one position that so few fans and the Chicago

media are looking at; I seriously wonder why we aren’t focused more on cornerback for this draft. Have you looked at the depth chart here?

Terell Smith is a nice player, but not quite a fit for Dennis Allen’s defense, and he can’t stay healthy. He’s also entering the final year of his contract, and the odds are near zero that he will receive a second contract with the Bears.

Zah Frazier is a complete wild card. But can we be honest and just say that a 26-year-old rookie who comes from Texas- San Antonio and was drafted in the 5th round is a very low probability to become an impact starter?

Kyler Gordon is your nickel, and Josh Blackwell is behind him and playing special teams. No issues there.

We also have to be honest and say the Bears don’t know what they have in Jaylon Johnson at this point. Johnson is coming off an injury-riddled season where he didn’t look like the same player. Johnson is 28 and has now missed 1.5 seasons in the NFL over the course of his career. Johnson fell to the second round originally because of injury concerns; talent-wise, he was a first-round caliber player. It’s fair to wonder if Johnson will be with the Bears past 2026, and Chicago can easily get out of his contract after this season.

Even if Johnson returns to form and the Bears want to keep him, they still have a giant question at the other outside corner position. Tyrique Stevenson is entering the final year on his rookie contract, and while many fans and media members (myself included) felt Stevenson was going to be a much better fit in Dennis Allen’s scheme, it clearly didn’t work out and when there were opportunities for Stevenson to play due t injuries late in the season, the Bears chose to play other players over Stevenson. Actions speak louder than words, and the Bears’ actions are that they don’t see Stevenson as a viable starter and certainly don’t see him with a future in Chicago.

With all that said, you can make the argument that the Bears don’t have either of their starting outside CBs for 2027 on the roster right now, and almost 100%, they certainly need one.

If the Bears draft a CB with the 25th pick, he almost certainly starts immediately. Sure, we can convince ourselves that Tyrique could start this year, but that’s clearly not what Dennis Allen wants. The Bears do need safety help as we mentioned before, but if you truly look at the secondary, you could easily conclude that the Bears need two rookie starters in the secondary, and if that’s the case, they should take CB at 25 and a safety in round 2.

The odds are much better that a starting caliber safety (especially as a rookie) will be available in round 2 than a CB will be sitting there at 57 that is plug and play.

The name to look out for here is Tennessee’s Colton Hood. Hood specializes in playing close to the line of scrimmage and pressing and jamming receivers at the line. He’s the exact kind of guy that Dennis Allen would like in his defense, and I would go as far as to say that if safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren and Colton Hood are both on the board at 25, it would not shock me if the Bears take Hood over EMW and draft a position group in round 1 that nobody is talking about.