(670 The Score) They may not settle the debate once and for all, but the 2021 Bears are shaping up to be a truly fascinating case study in one of modern football’s fiercest arguments.
Is it better to have a good pass rush or a strong pass defense? The Bears should be good on the former. Khalil Mack needs no explanation, and there are intriguing reasons to be optimistic about Robert Quinn and Trevis Gipson. It’s the latter which may end up determining whether the defense has the ability to bounce back from two straight seasons in decline. Are cornerbacks Kindle Vildor, Artie Burns and Duke Shelley up to the task?
“When you think about the corner position with Kindle Vildor, we're excited about where he's heading and how he's playing,” general manager Ryan Pace said Wednesday. “Excited about Artie Burns. And then obviously Jaylon Johnson, he's going to be a really good player for us for a long time. That's not even getting into the nickels.”
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Skepticism aside, there are a few things the Bears can count on from their secondary. Johnson’s health may not be one of them, but his skills certainly are. Johnson’s training camp was as good as anyone's on the team, Pace said, and safety Tashaun Gipson told reporters Thursday that Johnson reminds him of a young Jalen Ramsey, a four-time Pro Bowler who has also earned All-Pro honors twice. Gipson and Ramsey were teammates for the start of Ramsey’s career in Jacksonville, so when Gipson said that Johnson looks the part of a top-five cornerback already, you know it’s not just the usual press conference lip service.
“He’s taken on a leadership role,” Pace said of Johnson. “I can tell he feels way more confident being vocal here and again, he’s also a well-rounded player. His ball skills, every practice, jump out. The amount of interceptions that he has, the amount of PBUs that he has, he’s just got a really good feel for the game. He prepares extremely hard in the film room and also physically takes care of his body. I think he’s set up to have a really good year.”
In terms of certainty, it drops off pretty significantly after Johnson. Vildor’s listed as the second cornerback, lined up across from Johnson. A second-year pro out of Georgia Southern, Vildor has flashed at different points since joining the team, but even CB2 is quite the leap for someone who didn’t see a lot of action during his rookie season.
“He plays with so much confidence, you know, he’s just well-rounded,” Pace said. “He’s got ball skills, he has speed, he has man cover ability, he has zone awareness.”
Burns, Shelley, Xavier Crawford and Marqui Christian make up the rest of the unit (for now), with no clear runaway at nickel. The team has 10 days to figure out who’s best suited to handle Sean McVay, Matt Stafford and the Rams’ high-octane offense. A daunting assignment, maybe – but Pace seemed confident that the Bears' uncertainty was a product of high-level competition.
“That’s been a steady competition throughout,” he said. “They’re different. I was talking to (defensive coordinator Sean) Desai about that as we kinda worked through it. Duke, to me, is scrappy, tough, instinctive. Marqui is athletic and versatile and can play safety too, so they’re kind of different flavors and maybe there’s scenarios where we can use all of them. So it’s been a good competition. It’s made them both better. The good thing about it (is) our defensive coordinator will put those guys in advantageous positions.”
Cam Ellis is a writer for 670 The Score and Audacy Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KingsleyEllis.