Prior to Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft, reactions to the Chicago Bears' selections on Days 1 and 2 were all over the place. Having ignored the pass rush, general manager Ryan Poles still wasn't about to deviate from his process of taking the best player available.
And, when the Bears ultimately made their first pick on Day 3, coming in the fourth round and at pick 129 overall, he continued down that road.
This time, the Bears arguably came away with a steal when they selected Texas cornerback Malik Muhammad. First of all, the Muhammad selection causes Bears fans to immediately ask questions regarding Tyrique Stevenson, but more on that in a minute.
When I asked FanSided's draft guru, Mike Luciano, about the selection, his immediate reaction was everything Bears fans could have wanted to hear:
"Muhammad is up your a** on every play, a feisty player. He's very competitive, fast, tackles well, and can play multiple spots."
Malik Muhammad could give the Chicago Bears their new version of Tyrique Stevenson, but better
First off, the description of who Muhammad is as a player should have Bears fans ecstatic about the pick. He is precisely the type of defensive back that Dennis Allen will love to mold and deploy. To have a guy that's fast, first and foremost, fits Allen's preferences.
But, Muhammad is a competitive and feisty player. One might be led to believe that he's a heavily-penalized guy if he comes with that kind of description, but in 366 coverage snaps last season with the Longhorns, he saw only three penalties against him.
Luciano went on just a little bit more describing Muhammad:
"Just a guy who makes himself a pest."
This sounds a whole lot like the type of player Stevenson wants to be. From the jump, the way Stevenson has carried himself was always that of a player who intends to be a problem. But, his play has been way too inconsistent.
It's been inconsistent enough to where the Bears are highly unlikely to extend his contract after the 2026 season is up, and thus, the Muhammad pick here in Round 4. It makes perfect sense and, this time, the selection came together just as it should have.
This is the type of situation and selection that made too much sense for the Bears. Muhammad offers prototypical size at six feet, 188 pounds. Although he appears slender, Muhammad's physicality is there. He can occasionally get pushed around by bigger receivers, but that's not for lack of being what Luciano called a "pest."
Read more: Bears' Zavion Thomas already told the world why they'll be wrong about him
The Bears just got a player who has every chance of not only unseating Stevenson before the season begins, but giving Chicago another reason to feel comfortable letting the former Miami Hurricane go in 2027.
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