The Bears drafted UTSA cornerback Zah Frazier with their fifth-round pick Saturday.
He intercepted six passes last year, a Roadrunners record and the second-most in major college football, in his only season as a starter. The 6-3, 186-pounder played varsity basketball throughout high school but switched his attention solely to football in his senior year. He received an offer from Southern Illinois and went to school there for a year, where he redshirted, before transferring to Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College in 2020. He went to UTSA after his stint in junior college and septn two seasons as a backup before starting 10 of 12 games last season.
He’s old for the draft — he turns 25 in October.
Player personnel director Trey Koziol said that, despite his limited experience, the Bears were intrigued by his combination of size and speed. He ran a blazing 4.36-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.
“There is not a lot of guys who walk the earth that are almost 6’3 [and] run in the 4.3s,” Koziol said. “The cool thing with him, too, is he got his hand on a lot of balls this year, six interceptions, eight [pass breakups]. So when you get a guy who fits that press cover mold that can also take the ball away, I think you are more than willing to take a shot and develop guys like that.”
Frazier is likely a depth piece for a Bears cornerback room that has Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson penciled in as starters and Josh Blackwell and Terell Smith as backups.
Bears 2025 draft class:
Round 1, No. 10 overall: Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan
Round 2, No. 39 overall: Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri
Round 2, No. 56 overall: Ozzy Trapilo, OT, Boston College
Round 2, No. 62 overall: Shemar Turner, DL, Texas A&M
Round 4, No. 132 overall: Ruben Hyppolite II, LB, Maryland
Round 5, No. 169 overall: Zah Frazier, CB, UTSA
Bears 2025 remaining picks:
Round 6, No. 195 overall
Round 7, No. 233 overall