Chicago Bears position review: Cornerbacks
The Chicago Bears‘ cornerbacks had their ups and downs in 2015. At times they looked like world beaters, and at others they were as shaky as an octogenarian’s hands.
The Chicago Bears’ cornerbacks were a bipolar bunch, as much of the team was in 2015. At times they looked like they had a bunch of Deion Sanders on the field, while at other times you had to close your eyes, hold your breath and say a little prayer.
In the offseason, the Bears invested some of their capital on the position. They signed Tracey Porter and Alan Ball to shore up the secondary. They also hoped for another jump from second-year man Kyle Fuller, who had a pretty good rookie year.
In addition to adding players, the Chicago Bears also made a bold move. They cut Tim Jennings, who was one of their best cornerbacks over the past few seasons. After a bad season last year, and then a drunk driving charge, the new regime decided they needed to go another direction.
When it comes to talking about the Chicago Bears cornerbacks, it is a good news/bad news sort of thing. The good news is that in terms of yardage, they did a great job. The Bears ranked fourth in the NFL in that category.
Then there was the bad news.
The Chicago Bears ranked 25th in touchdowns allowed, and they ranked 30th in interceptions.
While holding the opponents to low yardage is good, the secondary has to cause turnovers. There are a lot of very good and great quarterbacks just in the division, so the corners will be challenged in just about every game. They need to come up with some interceptions to help the offense get in good position, and they need to keep the opponents out of the end zone.
Let’s take a more in-depth look at the Chicago Bears cornerbacks:
Bryce Callahan
Callahan was an undrafted rookie out of Rice who got an opportunity and made the team. Once he made the team, he took the opportunity to play in some games. He got to play in nine games this season, even starting three of them. He finished the season with 21 tackles and got a sack.
Callahan did better than anyone would expect, but at this point, he is still just a marginal player. Perhaps he can be a rotational player. The fact that he started three games and was the second-highest rated corner on the team by Pro Football Focus shows how much help the Chicago Bears need at the position.
Kyle Fuller
There was a lot expected from Fuller after he had an impressive first year. At the start of the season, he was failing hard. He was getting burned regularly, and he lost confidence.
After recording 64 tackles, four interceptions and three forced fumbles, Fuller had 54 tackles, two interceptions and no forced fumbles in 2015.
While the numbers show a bit of a regression this season, it could have been worse. In terms of his confidence, he was so down on himself that he was about to get benched.
The passer rating on throws to players Fuller covered in the first six games of the season was 137.8. In the next six games (in which the Bears started teasing their fans with possible playoff contention), that rating was 39.6. He improved so much, he was the highest-rated Chicago Bears corner (he ranked 38th out of 118 corners rated).
Now that he has the sophomore jinx out of the way, Fuller will have a big third year at hand. He has to show more improvement and show that he can be a cornerback that the Chicago Bears can depend on.
After playing with his fifth team in five seasons, mostly because of injuries, Porter signed a “prove it” contract with the Chicago Bears. I think he did.
Porter stayed relatively healthy, only missing two games (the first two games of the season) in 2015. He had missed 25 games in the previous four games.
Porter became a leader on and off the field for the Chicago Bears. He was the one credited for helping turn Kyle Fuller around. He took him under his wing, and showed him how to prepare for games and how to really study film.
Porter’s best game was probably the Thanksgiving game against the Green Bay Packers. Aaron Rodgers targeted him twelve times, but came away with just two completions. Porter had an interception, and broke up a pass in the end zone late in the game to preserve the victory.
More from Da Windy City
- Juan Soto appears headed to the Yankees which is not a big blow Chicago Cubs offseason
- 3 takeaways from Chicago Blackhawks shootout loss to Nashville
- Chicago Cubs in the middle of chaos that is Shohei Ohtani’s free agency
- The Chicago Cubs are on a roller coaster of emotions chasing Shohei Ohtani
- Chicago Bears quietly compiling list of head coaching candidates
I believe Porter earned himself another contract to stay in Chicago. When healthy, he is a pretty good corner still, and he showed it in 2015.
The Chicago Bears have serious depth issues at cornerback. After Porter and Fuller, there is a severe drop-off. Callahan may be a rotation help, but he will not be much more. They need a dependable nickel-back, and good backups.
The team may decide to re-sign Porter, but he is advancing in age and is a health risk. They will probably pick someone up in the draft, and attempt to do with him what the original plan was for Fuller — to ease in and then take over later.
Next: Chicago Bears Draft Prospects: Outside Linebackers
There are too many good quarterbacks, especially in the division, for the Chicago Bears to have holes in their secondary. This has to be one of their priorities this offseason.