NEWSLETTER
Things are lining up for Chicago Bears rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson to be a starter on the defensive side of the ball.
He’ll have some work to do in order to cement his spot in the lineup. But the path has been laid out for him. And it sounds like he is already marching along it well ahead of the start of training camp.
More from ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, who lists Stevenson as a player to watch after being a surprise offseason standout:
This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise given Stevenson was drafted in the second round, but the rookie quickly grabbed hold of first-team reps this spring and looks primed to start opposite Jaylon Johnson. The former Miami standout’s confidence is “a little bit ahead” of that of a typical rookie, according to coach Matt Eberflus, which has helped solidify the Bears’ secondary. The corner made a handful of plays, including an interception in OTAs, while impressing coaches with how fast he has picked up the defense.
Seeing news that Tyrique Stevenson is already snagging first-team reps on this defense is encouraging as heck. Is it surprising? No, not really. I’ve been digging Stevenson since the Bears brought him into the mix on NFL Draft weekend. The second of two second-round picks, Stevenson gives off the energy of the prototypical cornerback in the Matt Eberflus-Alan Williams defensive scheme.
MORE: These Tyrique Stevenson Highlights Have Me Excited About the Chicago Bears Defense
Stevenson has size, length, and strength. Plus he plays with an aggressive demeanor. Those are the types of things you should look for in any cornerback. These things also happen to be what the most productive Eberflus corners have brought to the table. I imagine these are the things that were showing up in minicamp drills and practices that led him to get first-team looks. If he keeps it up, there will be more where that came from in the months ahead. Should he do so, he’ll join a re-tooled secondary featuring two other young upstarts (second-year CB Kyler Gordon and S Jaquan Brisker), a young veteran (24-year-old rising fourth-year corner Jaylon Johnson), and a wily vet (S Eddie Jackson) who hasn’t even hit 30 yet.
For what it’s worth, we saw Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus prove he wasn’t shy about letting the kids play. So when the team took Stevenson in the draft, it led me to this line of thinking:
One of the most refreshing things about the coaching change from one Matt (Nagy) to the other (Eberflus) has been Eberflus’ willingness to play young players. Because while Nagy was basically scoffing at the idea of giving young players some burn at the expense of vets, Eberflus didn’t seem to have an issue with a trial-by-fire approach. There were growing pains, to be sure. Most notably with cornerback Kyler Gordon. But by year’s end, Gordon’s arrow was pointing up. Perhaps history will repeat itself with Stevenson. And it could happen as quickly for Stevenson as it did for Gordon.
Gordon was a starter from the get-go last year. And it seems as if history could repeat itself in 2023.
Every year we see players use a strong showing during summertime training camp to launch themselves into bigger roles. Heck, we’ve seen players take their training camp efforts and use them as a springboard into starting roles. My favorite such occasions happen when it is a rookie stepping onto the field and earning their way into a starting role from the get-go. And while there is an obvious focus on Darnell Wright (who has already been running with the 1’s) at right tackle, he might not be the only rookie in the starting lineup when Week 1 rolls around. If Stevenson does start right away, I’ll take it as a good sign.
