Kyler Gordon was a constant punching bag for fans and critics through the first three games of 2022. That isn’t hard to understand. He allowed over 300 passing yards through the air and gave up two touchdowns. People have already wondered if GM Ryan Poles flubbed his first-ever draft pick. Another three games have since passed. It appears things have begun to flow in the opposite direction. Despite no help from an injured Jaylon Johnson, the Bears’ pass defense remained respectable.
Gordon was a big reason. He’s allowed 78 yards through the air and no touchdowns. One person that has noticed the improvement is Tom Thayer. The longtime Bears color analyst and former guard dug into the tape from Chicago’s close defeat against Washington. He noticed Gordon making meaningful plays multiple times in coverage and as a tackler. His growth is evident in everything he does. If this trend continues, the Bears may have themselves a good football player.
Kyler Gordon looks like the guy he was at Washington.
That quickness, those instincts, and the toughness are all showing up more frequently. Don’t forget he’s doing this while playing two positions: outside corner and nickel corner. People don’t understand how challenging that is for a rookie. It’s a lot of responsibilities to take on. After floundering through September, it appears he’s settled down. That is a testament to his mental fortitude. Other corners might’ve grown discouraged by such setbacks.
One person happy about this development is Ryan Poles. The Bears GM caught tons of flak when he drafted Kyler Gordon rather than somebody on offense to help Justin Fields. Poles stated he felt the talent was too good to pass up. His job was to find the best players possible on both sides of the ball. Gordon’s turnaround has begun to validate his decision. It appears the Bears may have a young building block at a premium position. The same goes for Jaquan Brisker at safety. The future looks bright on defense.
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When these rookies get it all together, this will be a formidable young defensive backfield. Now we need to do the same for the OL. STOP THE MUSTIPHER EXPERIMENT, AND POLITICS.
The 2021 secondary was AWFUL. Way to many leads were given up. Poles had the right idea to get the best player available, there were tons of holes to fill. The secondary is now respectable, and should get better over time as Gordon and Brisker get more NFL experience.
The only problem now is scoring points. Hopefully the Bears reshuffle the line, a receiver or two start making plays, and Fields keeps improving.