Chicago Bears: Ranking 5 free agent cornerback targets

Honorable Mention: E.J. Gaines

A lot like Fuller, E.J. Gaines improved drastically last season. In one season with the Buffalo Bills, Gaines flew under the radar for a lot of folks. He isn’t mentioned in many top free agent lists, but he should be.

Gaines is entering his fifth season as a pro after being drafted in the sixth round of the 2014 draft by the then-St. Louis Rams. The former Missouri product has had an up-and-down career, again like Fuller, but proved in 2017 he had officially arrived.

Gaines has shown having a knack for getting to the ball. Whether it be intercepting the pass or defending it, he has been great in that area in the past. In fact, he set a school record at Missouri with 16 passes defended in 2011. A season ago, Gaines defended nine passes in 11 games.

https://twitter.com/PFF_Aaron/status/963572951550496768

Looking at the above play, it’s clear that Gaines was able to jump the route by reading the eyes of the quarterback. It appeared the receiver was a bit slow to finish the route, or maybe it was simply that bad of a throw. I might side with the latter on this one, but Gaines clearly knew where the ball was going and that’s largely due to his ability to follow the quarterback’s eyes.

Gaines is only 26 years old and paired with Fuller, under Fangio’s defense, could give the Bears a sneaky good tandem in the secondary.