One position group the Chicago Bears didn’t address in the 2025 NFL Draft was safety.
With starters Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker in the last year of their contracts, it seemed like a position that general manager Ryan Poles would’ve used draft capital on. However, the Bears followed their big board and addressed other spots on the roster.
During an interview with Kap & J. Hood on ESPN 1000, Poles was asked about the depth at safety and if LSU’s Major Burns, whom the Bears signed as an undrafted free agent, has a shot to make the team.
Poles said,” Yeah,” to Burns but also mentioned Oregon’s Tysheem Johnson, who can play nickel in addition to safety.
“They were brought in to develop but also to push to see if they can make a roster spot,” Poles said. “They’re going to have to play well on (special) teams to do that, but we were aware, when you look at our entire roster, you to Joe Thuney, you got Braxton (Jones) and then you got the safety room, the majority of the guys that started last year their contracts are going to be up. So we were aware that that group we had to at least be aware if we could find that sweet spot in the draft or we could get a guy to come in and compete, we would do that. …”
Poles invited Burns and Johnson for a reason. Here is what the two defensive backs have to offer.
Major Burns, LSU, 6-foot-2, 207 lbs
Burns finished his collegiate career with 45 games played and ended with 209 total tackles, 10 passes defensed, 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble, an interception and one touchdown.
Burns started his career at the University of Georgia and played in six games in his true freshman year. Following the 2020 season, Burns transferred to his hometown of Baton Rouge, La., to play for the LSU Tigers. There, Burns played four seasons.
During his freshman season at LSU, he was named the starter during fall camp, but suffered a season-ending foot injury in the fifth game against Auburn. Burns finished the season with 25 total tackles, an interception and one pass defensed.
In his second season with the Tigers, Burns played in nine games and started in five. This season was derailed with a neck injury he sustained in the Week 3 game against Mississippi State. Burns missed the next five weeks before finishing the year with 37 total tackles and four passes defensed.
Burns played in all 13 games his junior year and filled the stat sheet. He set a new career high in total tackles (90) and had one sack, an interception for a touchdown, and three passes defensed. In the ReliaQuest Bowl against Wisconsin, Burns finished with a game-high 13 total tackles. Against Missouri, Burns essentially ended the game with his fourth-quarter pick-6 to give LSU a 49-39 advantage.
MAJOR BURNS WITH A MAJOR PICK-SIX TO END THE GAME 😤@majorburns6 | @LSUfootball pic.twitter.com/cMuMu7krFf
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) October 7, 2023
Burns had a dip in production in his senior year, finishing with 49 total tackles, one forced fumble, 1.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries, and two passes defensed in 10 starts. In the 29-26 overtime victory against Ole Miss, Burns had eight total tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. Burns’ turnover before half time allowed LSU to kick a field goal to make it a four-point game. The Tigers ended up winning by three in OT.
During Burns’ Pro Day, he ran a 4.52 40-yard dash and finished with a 37 ½ vertical jump, which would’ve been the fifth-best among safeties at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Tysheem Johnson, Oregon, 5-foot-10, 195 lbs
Johnson played four years of college ball, his first two years at Ole Miss and his final two at Oregon. He ended his collegiate career with 53 total games played and made 262 total tackles, 10 passes defensed, 2 sacks, and 6 interceptions.
During his freshman year at Ole Miss, he started in 10 of the 13 games he played and had 47 total tackles, one sack, an interception, and one pass defensed. Against the No. 1-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, Johnson set a career-high with seven total tackles in the 42-21 loss. He recorded his first interception against LSU in a 31-17 victory on October 23.
In his second season with the Rebels, Johnson started in nine of the 13 games he played. The Philadelphia native ended with 78 total tackles and two passes defensed. In the first game of the season against Troy, he had 12 total tackles (six solo and six assists). He also ended with 10 total tackles in the matchups against LUS and Mississippi State.
Johnson transferred his junior year to Oregon and immediately impacted the program. He started all 14 games for the Ducks and finished with 70 total tackles, a sack, two interceptions, and seven passes defensed. In the 34-31 loss to Washington in the Pac-12 Championship, Johnson recorded a season high nine tackles (7 solo) and had a pass defensed.
In Johnson’s final college season with Oregon, he started in all 13 games and made 67 total tackles and set a career-high in interceptions (3). Against Illinois, he had a team-high 10 total tackles in the 38-9 victory. In the Big Ten Championship against Penn State, Johnson had nine solo tackles.
Tysheem Johnson comes up with the PICK for @oregonfootball 😤#B1GFootball on @BigTenNetwork 📺 pic.twitter.com/zomx6fIj4f
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 10, 2024
Top Competition
As Poles mentioned, Burns and Johnson must perform on special teams to have a legitimate shot at making the roster. It starts by impressing special teams coordinator Richard Hightower and then they have to potentially beat out guys like Jonathan Owens, Elijah Hicks, Tarvarius Moore and Alex Cook.
Owens is in the last year of his contract, and he played 429 defensive snaps last season. Against the Vikings in Week 13, Owens ripped the ball away from running back Aaron Jones on the goal line and scored a touchdown off a blocked punt. The veteran also played 240 special teams snaps.
Poles drafted Hicks in the seventh round in 2022 out of the University of California. In his three seasons with Chicago, Hicks has 1,011 total defensive snaps and played 177 snaps on special teams in 2024.
The Bears signed Moore to a one-year extension in March. He appeared in 11 games for the Bears last season and played 185 total special teams snaps. Before Moore, 28, signed with the Bears, he spent four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers.
Cook was signed to a reserve/future contract in January. He spent time with the Giants in 2023, and then the Carolina Panthers signed him off the Giants’ practice squad that season. Last season, he spent time on the Panthers’ and Giants’ practice squads.
The Bears had four safeties make the 53-man roster last season, so if either Burns or Johnson were to potentially make the team, it would likely just be one of the two UDFAs. A more realistic option would be the 16-man practice squad, which will feature plenty of competition to secure spots.