Chicago Bears: Predicting the entire starting secondary

Slot Cornerback: Cre’von LeBlanc

In today’s NFL, where the passing game is king, the slot cornerback has to be considered a starting defensive position. With so many three and four wide sets to defend against, the slot cornerback is now on the field more than ever before.

The Chicago Bears have a pair of interesting players who could make a huge impact at the slot corner position. The battle between Cre’von LeBlanc and Bryce Callahan in training camp is going to be fierce and I could see either player winning the job. However, for now, I am going to give LeBlanc the edge by a razor-thin margin.

LeBlanc joined the Bears after not quite making the New England Patriots roster out of training camp. He was an undrafted rookie last season, but immediately came in and made an impact in the Bears secondary.

The Bears used LeBlanc a lot on the outside early in the year, and the results were not pretty. His overall skillset and less than ideal size did not play well on the outside, but as soon as he primarily played out of the slot, LeBlanc thrived.

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He is just one of those guys who has a knack for the position. LeBlanc has extremely quick feet and an explosive athleticism that allows him to keep up against the tough to defend slot receivers. He also has a toughness to him that is necessary to play on the inside.

Like I said, I could see this going either way. Both LeBlanc and Callahan are young, high-level slot defenders who would start at the position for most NFL teams. However, to my eye test, LeBlanc was a bit better last season and has the slight edge going into camp.