Jaquan Brisker
Getty
Jaquan Brisker of the Chicago Bears.
Draft analysts are increasingly predicting that the Chicago Bears will address the depleted safety position with their first-round pick, and could even improve at the critical spot despite swapping in a rookie for two proven veterans.
Jaquan Brisker left after four years in the Windy City to take a job in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ secondary, while first-team All-Pro Kevin Byard III took his league-leading seven interceptions in 2025 with him to the defensive backfield of the defending AFC champion New England Patriots.
Both Brisker and Byard started 17 games for Chicago in 2025, helping an otherwise porous defense do enough to aid a breakout offense in earning the Bears their first NFC North Division title since 2018 and first playoff victory since 2010.
Thus, watching both leave for moderate one-year contracts from AFC playoff teams does not come without a bit of pain.
That said, Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network predicted on Tuesday, March 17 that the Bears will replace Brisker with an even better safety via the No. 25 pick in next month’s NFL draft: Toledo’s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren.
“McNeil-Warren has the size, length and playmaking ability to fill the void left by Jaquan Brisker — in fact, I believe EMW would be an upgrade at the position,” Jeremiah wrote.
Based on Jeremiah’s projections, Chicago will make McNeil-Warren the third safety to come off the board after Ohio State’s Caleb Downs lands with the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 10 and the Minnesota Vikings select Dillon Thieneman out of Oregon with the 18th overall selection.
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren Experienced Collegiate Player Ready to Start Week 1 in NFL
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren
GettyToldeo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren.
McNeil-Warren played 48 games across four seasons at Toledo, where he tallied 214 total tackles, including 11 tackles for loss, 13 pass breakups, nine forced fumbles, five interceptions, one sack and one defensive touchdown.
He is 22 years old, stands at six-feet, three and a half-inches tall and weighs 201 pounds. He posted a 4.52-second 40-yard dash and logged a 35.5-inch vertical leap at the NFL combine in February.
Should the Bears draft him 25th overall, head coach Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen will almost certainly expect him to start Week 1 of his first professional campaign.
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren’s Play Style Fits Perfectly With Bears’ Needs, Defensive Identity
GettySafety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren of the Toledo Rockets makes a tackle.
Lance Zierlein of NFL Network rated McNeil-Warren as the No. 3 safety in the 2026 class, which is also the order in which Jeremiah has him coming off the draft board on opening night, which is Thursday, April 23 this year.
Zierlein predicted that McNeil-Warren will eventually grow into a role as a plus-starter in the league.
“[He is a] long, downhill safety capable of bolstering a team’s run defense and playing enforcer over the middle,” Zierlein wrote. “McNeil-Warren is most valuable when playing near the line of scrimmage or in robber positioning. He anticipates well in coverage and is quick to close on receivers but will need to be protected by scheme to prevent speed mismatches.”
“He’s urgent in run support and has a feel for slipping blocks/meeting runners early in the carry,” Zierlein continued. “He’s a rangy tackler, but needs to quiet his feet when diagnosing and flowing downhill to tackle. McNeil-Warren might be pigeon-holed schematically but he’s good at his job.”