Chicago Bears 2022 season in review: Grading the defense

Chicago Bears 2022 grades: Cornerbacks

The cornerbacks unit for the Chicago Bears was a pleasant surprise. In 2021, this was a bad unit. With the Bears’ front getting to the quarterback on a regular basis, that covered up a lot of the cornerbacks’ deficiencies.

There were a lot of bad plays made by the cornerbacks in 2021. There were a lot of missed tackles and big plays allowed. When Poles took over as general manager, he made the secondary a priority.

We saw how well the safeties played in 2022 with Brisker on the unit. Poles spent his other second-round pick on cornerback Kyler Gordon. Having both Gordon and Jaylon Johnson on the outside gave the Bears a young, athletic, and tough-minded duo.

It didn’t happen right away, however. Gordon struggled coming out of the gate. He gave up some big plays while adjusting to the NFL. It wasn’t until Week 7 that he recorded his first career interceptions. However, in Weeks 15 and 16 he recorded interceptions. He looked a lot more comfortable and was making plays.

Johnson, unfortunately, got bit by the injury bug. He missed six games because of it. Later in the season, when both Johnson and Gordon were in, they played well together. In 2021, without much help, many quarterbacks just decided to not throw at Johnson. With Gordon on the field, they didn’t have that option. With both of them healthy and playing well, quarterbacks won’t be able to just ignore one side. If they go too much towards one side, these guys show that it’ll be a mistake. That means both players will have opportunities to make plays.

Kindle Vildor was picked on a lot in 2021. He played on the outside, which wasn’t his forte. In 2022, he played more in the slot and he played better. Unfortunately, he also suffered injuries and also missed six games. He did, however, record his first career interception and defended a career-high 5 passes.

Expect Poles to get some more help for added depth. The unit is moving in the right direction. With more pressure from up front, the cornerbacks will perform even better in 2023. Vildor likely gets a challenge at the slot, though. Grade: B