Chicago Bears 2017 free agency profiles: Cornerbacks
Johnthan Banks, 27 (6-foot-2, 185 pounds)
One doesn’t normally write about going after free agents on its own team, but Banks came in so late, he doesn’t feel like a Bears player yet.
One of the good things of going through what the Chicago Bears secondary did in 2016 is that the coaches got a good look at a lot of players. I mean, a LOT of players. It appeared as if the Bears front office found some of their players from walking down the street.
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By going through all those players, there is a chance you get to find a diamond in the rough. That may be Banks.
Banks was an All-American in Mississippi State in 2012. He also won the Jim Thorpe Award for the nation’s top defensive back. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted him in the second round in 2013 and he intercepted 7 passes in his first two seasons.
Then Lovie Smith came to town, and everything changed.
Smith brought his Cover-2 scheme defense, but Banks struggled in that scheme. Even with Smith gone, Banks and his confidence struggled. The Bucs traded him to the Detroit Lions in November, but the Lions waived him after two games.
The Bears picked him up, and now hope to get from him what the Bucs got in his first two seasons. Having a coach like Vic Fangio would greatly help Banks. “We’re going to work hard to resurrect his career and get it back on a good path here,” Fangio said shortly after the Bears picked him up.
Banks also played with linebacker Pernell McPhee, and having the two together may help Banks get back to the confident, dominant corner once again.
Banks used his tools early in his career to be successful. Perhaps he gives the last team that had confident in him a “prove it” contract and he rewards the Bears with the old Banks.