Chicago Bears select Malik Muhammad in 4th round of 2026 NFL Draft after trade with Panthers

One of the SEC’s top cornerbacks is off the board at the 2026 NFL Draft. Malik Muhammad, who spent three seasons playing for the Texas Longhorns, will begin his career with the Chicago Bears. Muhammad was the No. 124 overall pick in the fourth second round. He becomes just the latest to hear their name called to the next level since Steve Sarkisian took over in Austin.

Texas wasted no time getting Muhammad on the field, playing him in 14 games as a true freshman. By the time the 2024 campaign came around, he was a full-time starter for the Longhorns. In total, Muhammad saw action in 39 games and started 27 of them.

Just 100 career tackles are on the stat sheet, recording 97. Just 3.5 of those were for a loss but a sack did come this past season.

When dropping back in coverage, Muhammad was able to make a few plays. He finished college with three interceptions. Two of those were during the 2025 edition of the Red River Shootout vs. Oklahoma. Nineteen passes defended pop up as well.

Muhammad played high school football at Dallas (TX) South Oak Cliff, where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 49 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Malik Muhammad

Before the draft took place, a scouting report on Muhammad came from NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein. He evaluated the positives and negatives of Muhammad’s game. A prospect score of 6.21 was given, meaning the Texas product should turn into an “average starter” at some point.

To really give an idea of how Muhammad will fit in the NFL, a player comparison was given. Zierlein sees Muhammad being like Andru Phillips, a former third-round pick of the New York Giants.

“Muhammad has good coverage talent to offset his slender frame,” Zierlein said. “He can man up from press or off and is a plus pattern-matcher, staying in-phase and shadowing break points. He displays outstanding vision and adheres to his zone-cover principles, allowing him to play with ideal efficiency on all three levels.

“He can get outmuscled by big, strong wideouts inside the route and at the catch-point, but he doesn’t give in and usually holds his own. He does a nice job of chopping pass-catchers down in space but a lack of play strength shows up in occasional broken tackles. Muhammad has Day 2 talent and starter-level ability.”