The Bears traded up five spots in the fourth round of the draft and chose Texas cornerback Malik Muhammad with the No. 124 overall pick.

The 6-foot, 182-pounder from Dallas appeared in 41 games with 29 starts over three seasons with the Longhorns, compiling 97 tackles, three interceptions, 16 pass breakups, 3.5 tackles-for-loss and 1.0 sack. Last season Muhammad played 11 games and registered 30 tackles, two interceptions and four pass breakups.

The Bears moved up from No. 129 to select him by dropping 22 spots in the fifth round from No. 144 to 166 in a trade with the Panthers. They targeted Muhammad due to his speed—he ran a 4.42 40 at the NFL Combine—and his length.

"From a coverage standpoint, obviously that translates to athleticism," said Bears national scout John Syty. "For him, the ability to play man, stick at the top of routes is one of his strengths. And then instincts and zone coverage, too, is also a strength of this player. [He's] kind of a combo guy that can do a couple different things for us on defense."

Muhammad told Chicago reporters shortly after being drafted that he considers himself "an all-around DB, not just a cornerback."

"I can play inside too; I can play nickel also," he said. "And I can play multiple coverages. I can play man, I can play zone, pattern match, true zone. I can blitz. I feel like they're getting a well-rounded cornerback."

Asked what he will bring to the Bears, Muhammad said: "I'm bringing everything. I'm bringing instincts, high IQ, a technician, a communicator, a great teammate, a great guy in the locker room."

Last year Muhammad played his best in big games. He registered two interceptions in a 23-6 win over Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry and recorded a season-high six tackles and one pass breakup versus Ohio State.

"You want these guys to stand out on the biggest stage and [the Ohio State game] was by far probably one of his best games, along with the Red River game," Syty said. "The physicality, the tackles, just the overall competitiveness of the kid stood out."

In joining the Bears, Muhammad will work with defensive backs coach/assistant head coach Al Harris, who has a history of developing players into ballhawks. In his first year in Chicago in 2025, the defense led the NFL with 33 takeaways and 23 interceptions. Before becoming a coach, Harris was a two-time Pro Bowl cornerback during a stellar 14-year NFL playing career.

"Just knowing his history, his history of the corners that he's coached before, how he has played also, I know I've got a great coach," Muhammad said. "And I know I'm coming into a great situation."

Muhammad is also familiar with one former and one current Bears cornerback.

"Peanut Tillman was my chaperone at the combine," he said. "He was giving me some tips on how he used to punch the ball out and how he used to prepare for games.

"And actually, in a couple of my interviews, if they were to ask me, who were some of the corners that I watched in the league, I would mention Jaylon Johnson and be like, 'Yeah, he's actually nice.' I don't watch a lot of the new-age corners. I'm really like an old-school corner. But Jaylon Johnson is one of the guys that I mentioned."