Chicago Bears: Pros and Cons of CB Duke Shelley
By Ryan Sikes
Chicago Bears fans should be excited with Shelley’s physicality, especially at the line of scrimmage.
The Chicago Bears have already stated that Duke Shelley will be playing slot corner for them. In what is now a passing league, having more than one slot corner is never a bad thing, especially if they exhibit the qualities Shelley has.
Ryan Pace said the Bears will play Duke Shelley as a nickel corner. He came away impressed with the way Shelley performed outside in the pass-heavy Big 12.
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) April 27, 2019
When I watch his film, I love how physical he is with wide receivers, especially at the line of scrimmage. Shelley is not the biggest guy on the field, but fans will be excited with his aggressiveness. He plays much bigger than he actually is and can run stride for stride with any receiver. Besides his physicality, I really like how fluid he looks on the field and is rarely out of position.
Aside from myself, scouts also love his ability to tackle a runner dead in his tracks in the open field. He is susceptible to missing some of these tackles though as I will touch on later.
He does a terrific job of covering a wide receiver with his back to ball. Shelley watches the receivers eyes and hands and times it perfectly to disrupt the pass. He is one of those guys that just always seems to be around the ball.
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Shelley actually reminds me a lot of Cortland Finnegan when I watch his film. Like Shelley, Finnegan was an extremely physical cornerback who was not afraid of anything. Finnegan was considered undersized as well but played much bigger than his stature. That’s also what I see in Duke Shelley.