Bears land a top safety in first round of Lance Zierlein's mock draft

The 2026 NFL Draft is just a few weeks away, and the Chicago Bears are finalizing their pre-draft plans during what's been a busy offseason. The Bears have no shortage of needs to address, especially on defense, so there are different avenues they could go. Chicago has four picks in the top 89 selections, including an additional second rounder after trading wide receiver DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills.

But all eyes are locked on their first-round pick, especially as general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson continue to preach best player available mentality, and there are several ways they could go depending on how the board falls. NFL. com's Lance Zierlein released his latest mock draft, which had the Bears addressing a big need at safety.

But instead of Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, a popular pick mocked to Chicago, they land Oregon's Dillon Thieneman with the 25th overall pick. Wrote Zierlein: "Thieneman offers Dennis Allen's defense an instinctive safety with explosive athleticism and the versatility to help disguise coverages and change the picture post-snap for the quarterback. " The Bears lost both starting safeties in All-Pro Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker this offseason, but they did add an explosive playmaker in Super Bowl-winning safety Coby Bryant in free agency.

Still, Chicago has a starting safety job to fill, and it's going to happen in the NFL draft. If Thieneman, considered a top-two safety in this draft class, is still on the board at No. 25, you'd have to believe the Bears don't waste anytime adding him to Dennis Allen's defense.