Chicago Bears Mock Draft: Khalil Mack trade transforms franchise

The Chicago Bears find depth at safety in the fourth round

At pick no. 98 obtained via the Jets, the Bears with an undersized, unorthodox safety out of TCU in Ar’Darius Washington.

He stands just 5-foot-8, yet Washington plays much bigger. This kid is a physical player. What’s interesting about his game, too, is the fact that he has tremendous ball skills even with his smaller stature. In 2019, he came up with five interceptions in 12 games.

Washington comes from a TCU defense that played with a lot of high safety looks, sometimes going with two or even three safeties on the field. The Bears obviously have Eddie Jackson locked in as their starting free safety, and Washington does project more as a free safety than anything.

However, with Washington’s ability to even play the slot at times, he’s someone to watch. The Bears could use him in a variety of ways, whether that’s in nickel or even trying him at strong safety. Because of his physicality and willingness to help out in the run game, Washington very well could end up panning out at strong safety.

No matter what, the Bears need some more depth at this position. They could end up losing Deon Bush to free agency, which means they at least need a replacement for their top backup safety over the last few seasons. Washington could definitely fill that role, if not more.