Chicago Bears 2019 NFL Draft: Late round safety targets

The Chicago Bears have their starting safeties for the 2019 NFL season, but they may look to address depth at that position via the draft.

One of the positions the Chicago Bears had a hard time nailing down over the years was at safety. Following the stellar play from a guy like Mike Brown, the team never seemed to find another stud. Season after season, the Bears whiffed in their efforts to solidify the safeties.

Just think back for a minute: Brock Vereen, Craig Steltz, Major Wright, Brandon Hardin, Chris Conte, Al Afalava, Kevin Payne — the list goes on. Chicago has not always had success drafting at that position, until Ryan Pace came along.

When Pace came in, he showed some serious skills not only drafting safeties, but drafting in the middle rounds altogether. He was able to find both Eddie Jackson and Adrian Amos in the fourth and fifth rounds, respectively. Obviously, Amos has moved on but Jackson remains as one of the most exciting, elite safeties in all of football.

The Bears chose to sign free agent Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to replace Amos, but only on a 1-year deal. Following this year, most believe Clinton-Dix will end up playing elsewhere after succeeding in his “prove-it” deal with the Bears.

After Clinton-Dix ultimately leaves, the Bears will need to replace him. Whether via free agency or the draft, having a guy waiting in the wing would be ideal. If Pace decides to go the route of drafting a replacement, this year he could end up finding a late round gem.

There are a good chunk of guys who are graded as later round prospects, for the most part. Many of them would benefit from sitting this year, under the coaching of Chuck Pagano and learning from jackson and Clinton-Dix. Let’s take a closer look at some of these late round safety targets.