Pro Football Focus ranks the Chicago Bears secondary worse than they did in 2021
Pro Football Focus has been attacking the Chicago Bears lately. PFF ranked the Bears’ offensive linemen, defensive linemen, and wide receivers at or near the bottom of their rankings. The latest Bears unit to follow suit was the secondary.
The Bears focused on the secondary in the 2022 draft. Cornerback Kyler Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker were taken by the Chicago Bears with their first two picks of the draft in the second round. Brisker is grabbing some analysts’ attention as a possible “All-Rookie” player.
Evidently, those draft choices weren’t enough for PFF writer Michael Renner, who ranked the Bears 31st heading into the 2022 season.
Here’s what Renner wrote about the current Bears’ secondary unit:
It’s worrisome that this Bears secondary lacks a single player who they can point to and say for certain he’ll be reliable. Eddie Jackson is supposed to be that guy — and is being paid as such — but even he has earned coverage grades of 56.9 and 55.8 the past two seasons.
Renner didn’t say anything of much at all. He just criticized a veteran who claimed 2021 was one of his worst seasons and aims to be better this year. He mentioned nothing at all of the incoming rookies who had stellar careers in college keeping people out of the endzone.
Personally, I’m not worried about Jackson this year. He and Jaylon Johnson will both be able to be reliable this season. Johnson was one of the hardest cornerbacks the Los Angeles Rams had to plan for, according to wide receiver Cooper Kupp.
PFF called the Chicago Bears secondary one of the most improved units after the 2022 draft
Ben Linsey of PFF claimed the Chicago Bears’ secondary to be one of the most improved units following this year’s draft. Linsey was impressed by the new Bears players on the roster. Here’s what Linsey said about the Bears’ secondary in May:
Washington’s Kyler Gordon will likely get the first crack at the starting job opposite Jaylon Johnson outside, although he showed at Washington that he can play in the slot, as well. As the PFF Draft Guide put it, Gordon has some of the best burst in the class, even if his 40-yard dash time (4.52 seconds) was worse than expected. He was billed as a first-round talent by many and addresses a glaring need for a cornerback room thin on talent.
The Bears doubled down in the secondary with Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker in Round 2. Like Gordon, he’s an explosive athlete with good size and will be best utilized in and around the box. He’s a willing and physical tackler who earned a 79.4 PFF run-defense grade across his three seasons with the Nittany Lions to go along with strong marks in coverage.
Those are big additions for a secondary that collectively ranked 26th out of 32 defenses in PFF grade last season.
This doesn’t seem to be consistent at all. How could the additions have brought the Bears to an overall ranking worse than 2021? The Bears’ secondary was ranked 19th heading into the 2021 season, according to PFF. A team that is the most improved at a position shouldn’t fall in the rankings…
The Chicago Bears’ secondary will be better than in 2021
Forget what PFF says in their latest outlook for the Chicago Bears secondary this season, they already forgot about the draft. Gordon and Brisker will make the Bears’ secondary the best unit on the team in 2022. This contradictory information by PFF is annoying, but at least it shows they don’t really have a clue how any of the Bears will do this season.
The Bears will probably still not be good at football in 2022. But there will be signs of a new Bears core emerging that will win games in the near future. The Bears’ secondary will be one of those bright spots on the team.
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