The Chicago Bears defense isn’t off to their best start this season. They’ve gone through some pedestrian periods in the first three games. Thankfully they’ve managed to turn on the juice when needed. Particularly the 4th quarters in Detroit and Atlanta where they stonewalled two really good quarterbacks for vital stops. Thus enabling huge comebacks to get this team to 3-0. Most of the attention has gone to the likes of Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, and Eddie Jackson. So what about Kyle Fuller?
People haven’t really stopped to talk about him this year. Mostly because he’s never been the flashiest or most outspoken guy. Yet being a two-time Pro Bowler, one would think he should be getting more attention. Pro Football Focus agrees with that. With the most of September coming to a close, they posted their rankings of the five best cornerbacks in the NFL.
Fuller sits at #4.
“Fuller has defended short, quick throws exceptionally well in 2020. On targets of 9 yards or fewer, Fuller has recorded a 90.1 coverage grade, the second-best mark in the NFL. In addition, Fuller produced four total plays on the ball (most in the NFL) on those targets and allowed a 21.5 passer rating.
For reference, throwing the ball into the ground every play nets a 39.6 passer rating. Chicago has had strong play on the outside from Fuller and rookie Jaylon Johnson, which has helped the team rank in the top five in both coverage grade and expected points added per pass allowed on targets to the outside through Week 3.”
Kyle Fuller has become one of the great stories in Bears history
Here’s a guy who was drafted 14th overall, one spot after Aaron Donald. He was immediately saddled with the title of heir to Charles Tillman. That is a ton of pressure. Fuller had a solid rookie year but seemed to regress in 2015. Then in 2016, he suffered a knee injury that knocked him out for the entire season. People were convinced by that point he was a lost cause.
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Instead of falling into despair, the young corner accepted a challenge from his coach Vic Fangio. He put in a ton of work and had a rebound season in 2017. A year later he was named All-Pro with seven interceptions. Since then he’s consistently been one of the 10 best cornerbacks in the NFL.
He will go down as the best 1st round draft pick of the 2010s for the Bears and maybe one of their two or three best-ever cornerbacks.