The Chicago Bears will have a plethora of young cornerbacks to choose from in free agency this year leaving absolutely no reason why fans shouldn’t see a huge upgrade at the position.
With the whole world on their knees for Aaron Rodgers, Bears fans are looking at the fact that he’s only 33 years-old and likely to play at least another five years. If Chicago is going to have any shot at winning the division, consistently, they will need to fill the gaping holes at defensive back. Specifically, the cornerback position.
Since the retirement of Charles Tillman the Bears have lacked a dominating presence at corner, to say the least. Tracy Porter has shown some flashes, but he’s getting old fast. Kyle Fuller went from a first-round talent to a cut candidate. Bryce Callahan, an emerging nickelback, has failed to be on the field consistently. Cre’von LeBlanc showed potential by leading the group with the 59th best cornerback grade on Pro Football Focus, but if your top-graded player is 59th there are issues. Especially when Rodgers and Matthew Stafford are in your division and only one team in the entire league finished with less interceptions than you last season.
Each rookie defensive back selected by Ryan Pace last season got a chance to play this year as well. The group of three was highlighted by Deiondre’ Hall, a long-corner out of Northern Iowa. The highest graded player in the group ended up being the lowest draft pick, DeAndre Houston-Carson. He received a whopping 64.6 from PFF which is considered “below average.” The other two finished with “poor” grades. Not that surprising when looking at their fourth-round or lower draft selections.
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In addition to safety, if the cornerback position was upgraded for next year it would really make the front seven shine. With Pro Bowl level talent on the defensive line and in the linebacking corps, the Bears defense could return to greatness if they had a shutdown corner paired with a new young safety. Selecting a safety at #3 is a huge possibility and adding a shutdown corner in free agency is also quite intriguing considering the young group of talent. Here are five free agent corners you could see wearing orange and navy next season.
#5. Prince Amukamara JAX
After getting a one-year deal worth over $5 million, Amukamara didn’t intercept a single pass for the Jaguars. He was the third highest paid corner in the free agent pool after coming off a couple good years in New York where he had a total of 21 pass deflections and four interceptions in ’14 and ’15. Amukamara is only 27 years-old and the overall horrid play of Jacksonville’s team last season could be a reason for his decline. A change of scenery could suit him well, especially a destination in the NFC because he knows the receivers well after spending five years with the Giants. The drop off in his play should also allow for a nice discount.
