The Chicago Bears' secondary was depleted, with five defensive backs leaving the franchise during free agency.
Cornerback Nahshon Wright was a bit tougher to see go after, leading the NFL last year with 10 turnovers that helped spark the best defense in the NFL in takeaways. Now, Chicago is looking at 2026 fourth-round pick Malik Muhammad to be the next Wright and develop under Bears defensive back Al Harris. At least that is what head coach Ben Johnson is looking for.
"We were lucky to get him back," Johnson said via CHGO. "I think Malik (Muhammad) is a very sharp young man. He will be able to embrace that coaching style."
Bears hope big things are coming from Malik Muhammad
During his time at Texas, Muhammad showed he could be the guy the Bears are looking for to replace Wright. Muhammad racked up 30 tackles, four pass deflections, two interceptions, and one sack, leading to a second-team All-SEC selection last year.
Going into the 2026 season, Muhammad is expected to potentially compete with Tyrique Stevenson for the CB2 job. Stevenson did start there last year, but was benched for Wright by the end of the year, so there is hope for the rookie to come in and take the job.
Muhammad is about to learn from one of the best in the NFL with Harris, who did a masterful job last year with the hand he was dealt. Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon were both injured for most of the 2025 campaign, leading to Harris having to coach up guys like Wright, Stevenson, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson to step up, and they did as good a job as anyone could have asked for.
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Harris now has another project in Muhammad, and if he can get him rolling early in his NFL career, there is no doubt Harris will be standing on another team's sidelines in 2027 as their defensive coordinator.
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