{"id":865724,"date":"2026-04-13T20:33:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T20:33:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/865724\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T20:33:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T20:33:18","slug":"bears-ideal-but-realistic-pick-at-no-25-would-be-perfect-kevin-byard-replacement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/865724\/","title":{"rendered":"Bears ‘ideal’ but realistic pick at No. 25 would be perfect Kevin Byard replacement"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Chicago Bears<\/a> are entering the 2026 NFL Draft with a few clear needs on both sides of the ball. While offensive tackle is a big need, the defensive side of the ball is a huge issue.<\/p>\n

Edge rusher and defensive tackle would be nice pickups at the 25th pick in the draft in Round 1. But, there’s another position that could be a quality option with this first-rounder.<\/p>\n

James Reber for NFL.com<\/a> named the Bears’ “ideal” but realistic pick at No. 25 overall as Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. He’d be a great replacement for Kevin Byard, and a fantastic pairing with Coby Bryant in the safety room in Chicago.<\/p>\n

Bears ‘ideal’ No. 25 pick is Emannuel McNeil-Warren<\/p>\n

“Chicago’s defense thrived on takeaways last season, and McNeil-Warren could help maintain that trend with last year’s greatest turnover weapon, Kevin Byard, now in New England,” Reber writes.<\/p>\n

The Bears taking\u00a0McNeil-Warren would not be a major surprise, as he’s someone the team has been linked to at various points this offseason.<\/p>\n

Turnovers are not something teams can expect to replicate every season. But Byard was a difference-maker for the Bears, and losing him does sting.<\/p>\n

Bryant was a nice pick-up, but with Jaquan Brisker also being lost, the Bears do need to find a way to add a bit more depth to the safety room.<\/p>\n

So, with the 25th pick, why not take\u00a0McNeil-Warren and land a new starter at safety who is a similar level of difference maker in the secondary?<\/p>\n

More:\u00a0Coby Bryant has good odds to be a successful signing for the Bears<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season for the Toledo Rockets,\u00a0McNeil-Warren recorded three forced fumbles and two interceptions, with one being a pick-six.<\/p>\n

In his college career, he’s recorded eight forced fumbles and five interceptions, one sack, and 13 passes defended. The 6-foot-2, 202-pound safety is someone the Bears could get excited about, and realistically land with the 25th pick.<\/p>\n

While edge rusher might be a more pressing need, there might not be a difference maker nearly as impactful as\u00a0McNeil-Warren could be for Chicago available with this pick.<\/p>\n

This would be a fantastic selection for the Bears at No. 25 overall, as they would have completely changed their safety room, likely for the better, in just one offseason.<\/p>\n

More Bears news:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Chicago Bears are entering the 2026 NFL Draft with a few clear needs on both sides of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":865725,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2070],"tags":[374,692,391,2493,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-865724","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-bears","8":"tag-bears","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-bears","11":"tag-chicagobears","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116399309061518054","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=865724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/865725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=865724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=865724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=865724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}