Bears Could Address Pass Defense With Safety in 2027 NFL Draft, Analysis Says

A Draft Wire analysis points the Bears toward safeties Brauntae Johnson, Peyton Bowen and KJ Bolden as Chicago weighs ways to improve its pass defense.

A draft analysis has pointed the Chicago Bears toward the safety position as a possible fix in the 2027 NFL Draft. The piece, originally published by Draft Wire and carried by Yahoo Sports, rests on what its author treats as the one certainty in the discussion: Chicago needs to improve its pass defense. No selection is promised, but the analysis offers three college safeties it believes are worth watching.

The analysis opens with the unresolved question of where the franchise will play once its time at Soldier Field runs out. It names Arlington Heights, in the northwest suburbs, as the supposed front-runner for a new stadium but treats all relocation talk as unconfirmed until construction actually begins.

From there it turns to the three safeties, starting with Brauntae Johnson of Notre Dame, who also goes by Tae Johnson. Named to preseason All-America teams, he has validated that billing and more in the early part of the season, the analysis says. It also sees a local angle, calling Notre Dame the college team with the biggest following in the Chicago area and suggesting the pick would be well received in neighborhoods such as Beverly and Mt. Greenwood.

The second name is Peyton Bowen of Oklahoma, cast as the kind of safety who patrols the deep field the way a baseball center fielder roams the outfield. To explain that role, the analysis turns to Northwestern safety Robert Fitzgerald.

"I think safety's got to be one of the most fun positions in football because you really get to see the entire field," Fitzgerald said in the quoted remarks. He added that when a safety is responsible for the deep half or the deep middle, "you really are like a center field out there in baseball."

Applied to Bowen, the analysis argues that an elite deep-coverage safety would shore up the deep third of the field. It connects that directly to Chicago defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, contending his scheme would run more effectively with a player who can handle the assignment.

Georgia's KJ Bolden is the third prospect and, in the analysis's assessment, the likely top safety in the 2027 class. It projects him to remain available as picks reach the late teens or even the early 20s, and it credits him with elite athleticism and closing speed it rates with any prospect in the class.

The piece also notes a league-wide tension. The NFL is a pass-first league, helped in recent years by rule changes that favor offense, yet safeties are still not drafted as a high priority, which the analysis offers as context for how the class's top player at the position could slide.

Chicago's next chance to measure its pass defense comes at home. The Philadelphia Eagles visit Soldier Field on Monday, September 28, with kickoff set for 8:15 PM EDT and coverage on ESPN and ABC.