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As a young man from Georgia, Toledo cornerback Avery Smith didn’t grow up around much snow in the winter time. But his college career in Ohio has familiarized him more with the precipitation Chicagoans all know and love this time of year. And, surprisingly, he doesn’t mind it at all.
“Four years ago, I’d probably tell you I’m not up for it. Now, I feel like I’m used to it,” he said. “Probably gives me an advantage playing some MACtion games.”
Which naturally begged the question: how would you like playing in a city like Chicago or New England? Turns out, the NFL teams of both those cities have already paid the former quarterback-turned-defensive back a visit. And the differences in how he described the two visits were intriguing.
“New England was kind of, I would say, direct. Just seeing where my brain was with football and just learning how smart I really am. And then Chicago was kind of personality. ‘Am I going to be able to fit in with the squad?’ and stuff like that,” Smith described.
Meanwhile, Miami safety Keionte Scott got a more academic experience with the Bears during his meeting with their staff.
“It was definitely interesting to get down and … get tested by the coach there and see how they go about things,” he told reporters. “Mostly seeing what defensive schemes I knew and understood, and then they tested me on some things that they do to see if I could comprehend it.”
Perhaps the personalized approach means something specific for what the team doesn’t know as much about each player. Or maybe they simply want to mix up their challenges while meeting with the scores of players they encounter over the course of the week. For example, maybe they assume a former quarterback like Smith would be able to rattle off formations and concepts and instead wanted to test his mental in other ways.
Whatever reason they do it for, here are a few defensive backs who stood out as players likely to impress the Bears in private interviews.
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S (Toledo)
Smith’s secondary mate with the Rockets spoke with the intensity of Denzel Washington in Remember the Titans when describing his play style and mentality as a player and person.
For instance, why does he play with such force as a tackler?
“I can let all my anger out on the field. You’re bleeding just how I bleed. We’re both human, so we’re gonna bleed together. I just leave everything out on the field like it’s my last.”
Sometimes the words don’t do it justice. He means that.
On top of that, he spoke frequently of loyalty to his program, which was the first to offer him a scholarship, as a reason for not seeking more NIL money elsewhere. Plus, as the oldest of nine siblings, the premium he put on family and being an example for them, including demanding accountabiltiy, almost definitely resonated with Bears coaches when he met with them on his first day here.
On top of that: he’s a devoted practitioner of the “Peanut Punch,” having forced nine fumbles in his career.
Avieon Terrell, CB (Clemson)
Terrell hadn’t yet spoken with the Bears as of Thursday morning, but that will almost assuredly change at some point. Listening to him talk about how juiced he gets from tackling and the borderline giddy grin he got when asked about how diabolical the Seahawks defense is convinced me he’s the right kind of crazy for Chicago.
The younger brother of current Atlanta Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell, Avieon publicly seethed about his lack of interceptions in 2025 but prided himself on his five forced fumbles—yet another “Peanut Punch” disciple.
He has experience playing both outside and inside, which the Bears could certainly use given the (likely) impending loss of Nahshon Wright to free agency, Tyrique Stevenson’s inconsistency, and Kyler Gordon’s suspect health.
Plus, this man loves to tackle.
His favorite thing about football: “Being able to wake up in the morning and hit someone for free … At the end of the day, you’re going in there to make a tackle. I’m here. … I ain’t scared of nobody.”
Chris Johnson, CB (San Diego State)
The Aztecs star—who is not related to the ex-NFL running back, by the way—is a technician through and through, painstakingly breaking down everything from his in-week preparation for teams to how he diagnoses every play.
“My calling card, I’ll probably just say my understanding of everything—being able to break down what the offense is doing and being able to help not only me but also my teammates,” he said.
Without a doubt, Johnson, who had four interceptions last seasons and took two of those picks back for scores, will likely blow teams away at the whiteboard. And he also comes in hungry to prove his success wasn’t just due to playing in the Mountain West.
By all accounts, Johnson has first-round talent. But if teammates overthink his competition as a reason to let him fall, the Bears shouldn’t let him slide much further.
With the Chicago Bears in need of reinforcements on the back end, with no safeties currently under contract and uncertainty at cornerback aside from Jaylon Johnson, don’t forget defensive back as a position the Bears will be targeting in the first few rounds of the draft.
We’ll get to see the corners do their thing tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime, get ready to watch that defensive line group we’re all so interested in later this afternoon.
Any questions you want me to ask the quarterbacks, running backs, and receivers tomorrow? Leave some comments below.