Chicago Bears: Ranking 5 free agent cornerback targets

2. Bryce Callahan

Bryce Callahan was one of the top slot cornerbacks in all of football last year.

If you pulled any football fan in America aside and told him these exact words, I would bet nine out of 10 would look at you and say, “Who?”

Exactly.

Callahan is a fantastic story for the Bears. After playing his college ball at Rice, Callahan went undrafted in 2015. Ryan Pace took a chance on him, bringing him in, and my goodness has it paid off.

It started off a bit rocky for Callahan, being cut just a couple of weeks into his first season. The Bears decided to bring him back a couple of days later, but this time just for practice squad duties. Later in 2015, Callahan was brought up to the active roster yet again — this time he would stick around.

In 2017, Callahan started six games, but appeared in 12 total. He was able to defend six passes, intercepting two, force a fumble as well as return a punt for a touchdown in the final game of the season.

https://twitter.com/PFF/status/966164585677049857

As a Bears fan who is used to people poking fun at my team, I look at the above numbers and simply smile. Like I said, the average fan wouldn’t know much, if anything, about Callahan. It’s almost one of those best kept secret type of scenarios for Bears fans. Callahan wasn’t just good in 2017, he was elite at his position.

One of the top priorities this offseason for Pace must be to bring back Callahan. Only 26 years old, Callahan can again provide consistency on this defense for years to come.