Chicago Bears training camp is off and running. Despite some inclement weather the first day, two practices are officially in the books. The pads haven’t gone on yet, but that hasn’t stopped certainly players from getting off to a fast start. It’s already becoming apparent that the competition between the Bears secondary and the new wide receivers is going to be the highlight of camp.
One name who has gotten a big jump in this isn’t one fans would expect. He’s a rookie undrafted free agent in Kevin Toliver. Diehard Bears followers will recognize him as the LSU product who was considered among the best undrafted players on the market after the draft ended. Somebody who experts were shocked didn’t get picked.
When he first spoke to the media about choosing to sign with the Bears, it was clear the young man carried a huge chip on his shoulder. He was not happy about teams overlooking him like that and he planned to make them all pay for their screwup. Chicago was merely the team he’d chosen to help get his revenge.
It seems he wasn’t joking about that either.
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Kevin Toliver is already taking over Chicago Bears training camp
Through two camp practices thus far, no defensive back has been more active than Toliver. On opening day, despite pouring rain at times he had two interceptions of the Bears quarterbacks. Then on day two, before anybody had a chance to really settle in on that news, the rookie struck again with a third by jumping a route. He also came close to a fourth shortly before that.
Kevin Toliver had a big day with several picks of Bears QB’s.
Nagy said he liked seeing how his passers tried to adjust to the rain. He likes the offensive and defensive back and forth.— Robert Żeglinski (@RobertZeglinski) July 20, 2018
He’s having a great camp (after 3 1/2 hours of practice): former LSU cornerback Kevin Toliver. Undrafted FA made an athletic pick just now and retuned it up the sideline. Two yesterday
— Patrick Finley (@patrickfinley) July 21, 2018
Toliver went through some issues at LSU includes some injury setbacks and off-the-field concerns. None of which were bad but apparently were just enough mixed with his rather modest stat line to prevent him from getting drafted. Yet scouts and draft experts persisted that his tape showed a player with tons of untapped potential. Starter capability if he was developed properly.
So giving him to a coach like Vic Fangio who has a strong reputation for coaching up defensive backs must feel like stealing for the Bears. It’s probably a big reason Toliver chose to sign in Chicago to begin with. Fangio is widely respected. His work with Bryce Callahan, another former undrafted player has proven fruitful. Toliver has a chance to be even better. Especially if he can manage to stay focused and motivated as he has so far.
