Josh Blackwell

Blackwell earns trust through the hidden plays that can swing a season. He has to keep translating that urgency from coverage units into more reliable defensive opportunities.

Strengths: Special-teams playmaking, awareness, effort and versatility.

Weaknesses: Minimal recent defensive snap volume and crowded competition at corner.

Blackwell is useful precisely because he does more than one job. He can cover as a reserve corner, has made 30 special-teams tackles and has even flipped a game with a 94-yard punt-return score. That makes him one of those players coaches trust on game day even if he is not locking down a starting spot. A six is fair: he is proven, versatile depth, not a corner you want isolated for 60 snaps every week.

Strengths: He brings position flexibility, special-teams toughness and return ability. Blackwell plays with urgency, has forced turnovers and has enough experience in Chicago's environment to fill in without needing a long runway.

Weaknesses: Only two career starts underline the ceiling on defense. Bigger receivers can outmuscle him, and his best value is spread over several roles rather than concentrated in shutdown outside coverage.