It is often a pretty good sign when a Chicago Bears player makes the All-Rookie team during his first season. Matt Forte, Kyle Long, Kyle Fuller, Jordan Howard, and Roquan Smith all did so. They each went on to have productive NFL careers. Braxton Jones became the latest name to earn that honor for his work last season, playing every single snap at left tackle. It offers hope that GM Ryan Poles knows what he’s doing and should continue to find players that can contribute to this team right out of the gate.
Chad Reuter of NFL.com seems to think so. He wrote a recent article detailing players at every offensive position he believes should be favorites to claim All-Rookie honors for 2023. His choice for offensive tackle was the Bears’ 10th overall pick Darnell Wright. He is a big believer in the Tennessee product. Well, it seems the love for Poles’ work didn’t stop there. Reuter shifted his focus over to the defensive side of the ball in his next column. Once again, a Chicago pick appeared on the list, this time in the form of Tyrique Stevenson.
“Stevenson is already making plays during practices and will lean on his natural talent and confidence while honing his craft early on. He’s a physical presence in coverage and coming downhill against runs and screens.”
The Chicago Bears are already fast-tracking Stevenson.
He started out on the second-team defense when rookie minicamps began in May. From there through the end of veteran minicamps earlier this month, he’d been promoted to the starting outside cornerback spot opposite Jaylon Johnson. His athleticism, ball skills, and hard-nosed mentality have all stood out in drills. New cornerbacks coach Jon Hoke is renowned for his ability to develop young players at that position. If things progress at this current rate, the Miami product will be an instant hit.
Such a result would be a feather in the cap for Poles. He got some heat from Chicago Bears fans when he traded up in the 2nd round to acquire Stevenson. Many had their hearts set on pass rush help or a new center. Stevenson thriving would be a reminder of why he gets paid the big bucks and they don’t. A team can never have too many good corners. Stevenson and Johnson could form one of the more intriguing young duos in the NFL this year, and that is without mentioning Kyler Gordon.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
It’s good that we have reason for optimism, but I’ll save just a bit of excitement for if/when all these projections actually come to pass.
It looks to me that this draft for Chicago could go down as one of the best in a long time for having contributions from multiple picks. Having a lot of holes to fill helps that.
Tyler Scott could end up on this list, if Claypool does not step up this year.
NICE! and that doesn’t even consider the guy from Minn'(Terrel Smith?)… Who I think will probably take over the other DB spot, next season if JJ doesn’t have the same value for himself as Poles does. My conundrum is they say Kyler G’ is the best athelete of the bunch but he’ll be playing nickle…. which means he won’t be on the field 100% of the time. I guess that’s using the skills a player has… not forcing them to play out of position. (Keep in mind he was drafted b4 Brisker… Poles 1st draft selection… so he must have… Read more »
nice