The Bears have talked about creating competition at multiple positions this offseason. The production from the players currently in those roles tells a different story. Braxton Jones finished 2025 with a 55.5 overall PFF grade and lost his starting job.

Tyrique Stevenson allowed a 93.8 passer rating in coverage. Both starting safeties from last season are gone. If Chicago drafts early at any of those positions, the incoming player is not competing for a role. He is taking one.

Jones is being treated publicly as a starting option at left tackle. His 2025 numbers do not support that. He played just over 200 snaps, lost his job early in the season, and struggled consistently in pass protection. His efficiency dropped to roughly one pressure allowed every nine snaps, which is far below what NFL offenses need from the position.

League-average starting tackles typically grade in the mid-60s or higher. Jones was well below that threshold. There is a difference between a player who had a rough stretch and a player whose performance does not meet the baseline for the role. Jones fell into the second category.

If the Bears draft a tackle early, the framing will be about competition. The reality will be a transition. First-round tackles start quickly, and the gap between Jones’ production and what a high draft pick is expected to provide is wide enough that the outcome is predictable.

Stevenson is often described as a player who flashes. The full-season numbers show inconsistency rather than development. A 93.8 passer rating allowed in coverage and a 59.6 coverage grade placed him in the bottom half of qualified starters. Those are not numbers that lock down a starting role heading into the following season.

He also lost snaps late in the year as his role fluctuated. Teams do not reduce a corner’s playing time down the stretch if they view him as a secure starter. They do it when they are still trying to figure out what they have.

Adding another corner early in the draft would put Stevenson in a position where he has to outperform a player the team just invested significant capital in. That is not a depth competition. That is a starter audition.

Kevin Byard led the league with seven interceptions last season and earned All-Pro recognition. Jaquan Brisker played a full season and anchored the other safety spot. Both are gone.

The current group is built around replacement-level players and new additions with limited starting experience. Analysts have already labeled the position a glaring hole heading into the draft.

There is no competition to frame here. The Bears do not have a starter at safety. They have candidates, and the draft is where the answer is most likely to come from.

First-round picks become starters more than half the time. At premium positions like left tackle and cornerback, the transition from draft pick to starter happens faster than at most other spots on the roster. The Bears know this.

If Chicago invests early at left tackle, the pick is not sitting behind Jones. If they take a corner, Stevenson is not mentoring the new arrival. If they draft a safety, the rookie is starting. That is how the draft works at the top of the board for positions of need.

The Bears are calling it competition because that is what teams say in March. The grades, the snap counts, and the departures say something different. Jones, Stevenson, and the safety group did not produce at the level required to hold off what is coming. If Chicago drafts at those positions early, it is not adding competition. It is making the decisions the production already demanded.