Bears’ Muhammad joins secondary with a tough act to follow

Perhaps it’s too much pressure to place on a rookie, but Bears cornerback Malik Muhammad II joins a secondary that has a tough act to follow from last season.

Twenty-three of the Bears’ league-leading 33 takeaways were secured by a defensive back, including safety Kevin Byard III’s NFL-high seven interceptions and cornerback Nahshon Wright’s top-ranked eight takeaways.

Both, among others, left in free agency.

Despite Muhammad’s lack of experience, he could play a large role in a thoroughly reshaped secondary. Here’s what to know about the rookie before training camp begins.

How did he get here?

The former Texas cornerback declared for the draft after his junior season, announcing his intentions in December and opting out of the Citrus Bowl against Michigan on New Year’s Eve.

Most analysts projected Muhammad as a second- or third-round pick, but he fell to the fourth round — perhaps because of concerns about his slight frame (6 feet, 182 pounds), inconsistent cover skills and lack of ball production (three interceptions in 41 career games).

When asked about his draft dip, Muhammad told Chicago reporters, “For sure, I do have a chip on my shoulder, but it was just a lot of emotions going on at the time.”

Jason Todd, Muhammad’s coach at South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas, told the Tribune he sensed Muhammad’s frustration: “I told him that day, when he was finally selected, ‘Man, all you can ask for in the NFL is an opportunity, and you got one.’ When it comes to getting into the NFL, (it could be) the Bears or it could be the Rhinos. The opportunity is all that counts.”

The Bears moved up five spots in the fourth round to select Muhammad at No. 124, part of a trade package with the Carolina Panthers that also fetched pick No. 166 in the fifth round, which they spent on linebacker Keyshaun Elliott.

General manager Ryan Poles said his staff’s draft board had several names “we were real convicted about … so we were a little bit more aggressive with those names.”

Where did he come from?

Todd said the draft was likely a “humbling” experience that could spur Muhammad to play more aggressively and take less of his more “calculated” approach to coverage.

“It’s going to finally get him to start taking those chances just to make sure other people know what type of player he is,” he said. “Either you sink or swim.”

Todd remembers the “Manny” Muhammad who had a 41-yard interception return for a touchdown to seal the second of back-to-back state titles for South Oak Cliff in 2022.

“It was at AT&T Stadium, where the Cowboys play,” he said. “After he made the play, he ran off the field and took his helmet off like a Miami Hurricane, basically saying that this is his house.”

Several of Muhammad’s cousins play college and pro football, including Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jabbar Muhammad and Miami Dolphins cornerback A.J. Green III.

“What’s funny is that none of the older siblings, as far as the fathers and uncles, none of them played football,” Todd said. “They were all basketball players. Now they’re just producing a little DB factory.”

Todd recalled Muhammad was a gifted athlete, but it was his maturity that stood out. He was committed to learning the details of various coverages from coaches.

“Understanding the overall team scheme, understanding offenses, understanding and reading the three-step for the quarterback for the quick game,” he said. “He was just a student of the game.”

Why did the Bears draft him?

With each draft pick and free-agent acquisition, the Bears mold the roster with an emphasis on speed and versatility.

Muhammad ran the eighth-fastest 40-yard dash (4.42 seconds) among cornerbacks at the scouting combine and tied for the fastest 10-yard split (1.51).

“You factor in a little bit of length with that, from a coverage standpoint, obviously that translates to athleticism,” Bears national scout John Syty said.

Defensive assistant/nickels coach Cannon Matthews said Muhammad’s football intellect stood out while talking to him at the combine.

“You could tell — sharp, smart kid,” he said. “All the different things that you have to handle inside from a communication standpoint, seeing a little bit more than you do just outside, we feel pretty confident about that.

“And just his movement ability. … Change of direction, the burst out of breaks.”

The Bears ranked a middling 15th in expected points added (minus-0.06). Among the cornerbacks, Tyrique Stevenson posted a plus-9.1 coverage EPA and Kyler Gordon a plus-2.8.

Poles said Muhammad can “add competition to that corner room, and we think that he can positively impact us and give us more depth early.”

As for concerns about Muhammad’s slender physique, Syty said he was “not at all” concerned.

“You look at Malik, he’s a little bit younger, so there still is a frame to grow and continue to develop,” Syty said. “But we’ve got a strong support staff here nutrition-wise, and he’s going to do everything in his power to maximize everything in his body.”

What his coaches said

“He’s also a guy that’s multiple,” said Al Harris, Bears defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator. “You can put him on the outside, you can put him on the inside as a nickel. Just from his evaluation on tape, I see a ball guy.”

By his own admission, Muhammad didn’t play a lot of nickel at Texas, mostly boundary corner.

But for the Bears, his training outside and at nickel provides competition and depth at both spots. The Bears allowed Wright and C.J. Gardner-Johnson to leave via free agency and didn’t re-sign Nick McCloud.

Meanwhile, starting nickel Gordon missed 14 regular-season games in 2025 and sat out minicamp last month with a soft-tissue injury.

The Bears defense ran the fifth-most plays (754) in nickel.

“We pride ourselves on the concept-teaching aspect of it and maybe not play-specific,” Matthews said. “So now if I’m learning concepts, it really shouldn’t be an issue if DA (defensive coordinator Dennis Allen) is like, ‘Hey, Malik, I need you to play the nickel today,’ or, ‘Hey, I need you to play safety today.’ … We just put you in and the concepts will keep you clean.”

What he said

Allen runs a man-zone hybrid defense, and Muhammad believes he’s up to the task when the technique calls for him to match up with receivers.

“I feel really comfortable doing that knowing that I have good lateral quickness, good feet, being able to mirror receivers and then just playing ball,” he said.

During minicamp, Muhammad said he and Allen hadn’t talked a lot about man coverage.

“He just told me I had good hips, good feet, and I was smart,” he said.

What he needs to prove during training camp

The Bears don’t see Muhammad as a one-for-one replacement for Wright.

“Maybe the instincts and ball skills and takeaway ability (are similar),” Syty said. “They’re a little bit different player-wise. … Malik adds a little bit more speed to the room.”

What Muhammad should hope to have in common with Wright will be Harris’ stamp of approval. Harris stood on the table for Wright, previously an afterthought before signing with the Bears last season, and Wright turned in a career year.

Bears coach Ben Johnson called Harris a “great teacher” who luckily wasn’t pilfered by another team. He likes the pairing of Muhammad with Harris.

“(Harris has) some really good building blocks for young players,” Johnson said. “If they trust him and if they buy into his way of coaching, they’re going to have success. His track record says that.”

Muhammad doesn’t have to supplant Stevenson or Gordon during training camp to have a role during the season, but he does have to earn Harris’ trust. He already has done some background work on Harris, a 2020 inductee into the Packers Hall of Fame.

“I looked up Coach Harris on the internet once he drafted me,” Muhammad said, “seeing all the guys that he has coached and all of the accolades that the guys have, along with him being a player also, playing in the league for a long time.”