When the Chicago Bears entered the 2014 draft, the experts had predicted the Bears to draft a defensive lineman or a safety. With defensive tackle Aaron Donald being selected by the Rams right before the Bears pick, the general consensus was the Bears would take one of the top two safeties: Calvin Pryor or Ha-Ha Clinton Dix. The Bears opted to ignore the needs at defensive line and safety and decided to draft cornerback Kyle Fuller out of Virginia Tech with the 14th over-all pick.
This was a head scratching move for some, considering the Bears already had two former pro bowlers in Charles Tillman and Tim Jennings at the one and two corner spots. The Bears felt that most of their off-season signings should help boost the D-Line and they waited till the fourth round to select a safety in the University of Minnesota’s Brock Vereen (as of yesterday the Bears also added former 5 time pro bowl safety Adrian Wilson into the mix). So what made the Bears go after Fuller in the first round? The Bears are thinking about the present and the future.
Presently the Bears are looking for Fuller to win the job as the nickel cornerback. Coach Marc Trestman has said “this is a three wide receiver league” and with that the Bears want to keep three corners in a steady rotation throughout the season. The Bears have to deal with two high flying aerial attacks within their own division in Green Bay and Detroit and looking at this years upcoming schedule they will have to deal with quarterbacks by the names of Brees, Brady, Romo and Ryan, to name a few. . . Trestman is right, the pressing need to go three deep at the corner position is quickly becoming a necessity.
According to NFL.Com, Mike Mayock likened Kyle Fuller’s game to Brandon Flowers (another Virginia Tech alum) when it comes to how physical he plays at the line of scrimmage and how helpful he is in run support from the corner spot. The run support from the secondary will be key in this years Bears defense because when looking at how their run defense faired last year, they need all the help they can get. Last season the Bears run defense gave up an average of 161.4 yards on the ground to the tune of 5.3 yards a carry. This indicates that teams were able to run on this defense in every and any direction.
Besides the physical and mental tests young Kyle Fuller will be expected to endure this season, he also has to contend with playing for a bigger role on the team with two former pro-bowlers ahead of him. The previously mentioned Charles Tillman and Tim Jennings are the veteran corners who are expected to help bring along Kyle Fuller who will ultimately be a replacement for either one. Charles Tillman is still the best corner on the team who has mastered the art of stripping the ball out of ball carriers arms. More importantly he has been a very physical corner who has given the likes of Detroit’s Calvin Johnson some fits while playing him one on one.
Tim Jennings has been a player in the league who’s been hard to really get a grasp on. He won a Super Bowl with the Colts in 2007, and was a pro bowler in 2012 and 2013. He gets lost in double moves often and height (5’8″) seems to dampen his athleticism. If any of these two veteran corners should be worried about Fuller taking their job, it should be Jennings. Something that almost quite literally slapped Fuller into reality was lining up against pro bowl wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey in practices. Fuller said of the match ups : “Going against Brandon and Alshon, two big, strong guys – it definitely woke me up and let me know where I’m at.”
Aside from Fuller eventually pushing a veteran to the sideline, or out the door – Fuller the player offers a lot for the Bears fans to be excited over. He understands what it means to be a pro as he has had two older brothers play in the NFL (Vincet Fuller and Corey Fuller, who currently plays for the Detroit Lions). He also was the team captain at Virginia Tech. Coach Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech has run a program there that emphasizes precision on defense and special teams which should bode well for Fuller moving forward in terms of understanding an NFL playbook and maintaining focus throughout a season as a professional.
Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker said of Fuller: “He’s a very intelligent player. He’s got good size, he’s got good speed. He’s a willing and aggressive tackler and a high percentage tackler. He’s got excellent ball skills and great awareness.” When Tucker was asked about Fuller being added depth to a position that already had to established veterans, he backed up comments made by head coach Marc Trestman by saying: “Typically, at least half of the snaps that you’ll play in the season will be with five defensive backs in the game . . . a third corner is like a starter. A third corner plays as much if not more than your third linebacker in a 4-3.”
So the head-scratching draft day move by the Bears maybe wasn’t too complex to understand. What the Bears get in Kyle Fuller is a mature, capable, athlete who won’t shy away from competition and who will be asked to make an impact from week one.
G.W. Gras
twitter @GeeSteelio
