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Before we delve into the safety position, let's see why the Bears might be interested in another safety this offseason. Three of the Bears' safeties this season are still on their rookie contracts, but one (Brandon Hardin) was drafted by Phil Emery and he hasn't played for two straight seasons now, about as much of an unknown as you can get. Major Wright had his best year as a Bear by far, but he and Chris Conte are both still products of the prior regime, to go with professional backup Craig Steltz.
It's a position the Bears have drafted with depth and drafted aggressively, but if the Bears end up not being sold on Conte or think Steltz's time as a Bear should be nearing its end, they could end up drafting their fourth safety in four years. With that in mind, here are some players the Bears could be looking at from the safety pool:
1st Round Consideration: Kenny Vaccaro, Texas | Matt Elam, Florida
2nd Round Consideration: Eric Reid, LSU | T.J. McDonald, USC | J.J. Wilcox, Georgia Southern | Bacarri Rambo, Georgia | Phillip Thomas, Fresno State | Tony Jefferson, Oklahoma
3rd Round Consideration: Jonathan Cyprien, Florida International | Shawn Williams, Georgia | Duke Williams, Nevada | Robert Lester, Alabama | Josh Evans, Florida | Prentiss Waggner, Tennessee | Brandan Bishop, North Carolina State | Rashard Hall, Clemson
The safety position doesn't have a lot of top-round talent, but there's a lot of guys that could be taken from the third round on, meaning this could be one of those "measureables" picks Phil Emery's professed to like. And after taking two defensive backs last season, he's not exactly predictable.
Are there any safety prospects that catch your eye?