Chicago Bears: 5 logical defensive free agents still available
By Ryan Heckman
Logical defensive free agents for the Chicago Bears: CB Darqueze Dennard
Once again, the Bears are no where near close to a starting slot cornerback. That man could very well be a free agent waiting to sign. Maybe they find him in former Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons cornerback Darqueze Dennard.
Over the past two years, Dennard has struggled to stay healthy, thus he’s still looking for a job. The Bengals cut ties with him last offseason after he spent his first six seasons in Cincinnati. Make no mistake, though, Dennard was fantastic in recent years.
Of the slot corners that played 50%+ of their snaps inside, Darqueze Dennard ranks FIRST in catches allowed (14), yards (134), passer rating (68.4), yards per snap (0.57), snaps per target (9.0) and snaps per reception (16.8).
— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) December 31, 2019
That's every category PFF keeps data on. Every one.
When he’s on the field, Dennard is actually an above average slot cornerback. If he’s healthy, he would come in and win the job with relative ease here in Chicago. Then, guys like Kindle Vildor, Duke Shelley and Thomas Graham Jr. would be relegated to depth pieces — which is a good thing, for now.
None of those younger guys are exactly ready for the starting slot job, at least right now. Maybe training camp proves otherwise, but a veteran like Dennard would serve the team well. He would snatch that starting job immediately this summer, and would give the Bears another physical presence in the slot. Over the years, Dennard has been one of the better corners against the run.
Could he be a late-offseason gem of a signing?