Chicago Bears hope Kyler Gordon is more relaxed in second season

Chicago Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon had an up-and-down rookie season. The team hopes that his experience helps him relax and make more plays in 2023.

Gordon was the Chicago Bears‘ second-round pick in 2022. The Bears have focused on the secondary in the draft in recent years and Gordon was expected to be an integral part of the unit.

Gordon had an up-and-down rookie campaign. He struggled to get a foothold on the field, especially early on. He did settle in as the season progressed and showed how good he could be late.

Gordon did not get his first interception until Week 16. However, his second one came the next week. The encouraging part is that he did it against two of the best passing offenses in the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills.

Now, in 2023, the Bears hope to see more of Gordon’s 2022 late-season emergence. They feel the experience he had as a rookie will help him slow things down this season. The team felt that he was trying to play too fast and that hurt him. The coaches noticed how he improved as the season went on. Now that he knows what to expect, that should happen.

Another thing Chicago did was to try to keep him in one position for the most part. He started out as the outside cornerback opposite Jaylon Johnson. Later on, he moved to the slot. He looked more comfortable in the slot.

This offseason, the Bears drafted another cornerback. They have now drafted eight cornerbacks in the past five drafts. Three of them were in the second round. Those players were Johnson, Gordon, and now Tyrique Stevenson.

Stevenson is a big, speedy, athletic, and physical corner. The team hopes he becomes a star at the outside cornerback position. If that happens, then Gordon only has to concentrate on playing the slot.

The slot is an important spot. Unlike the outside where the corners have to concentrate on the receiver, the slot can do more. He can blitz easier from there and he can jump short routes. Gordon is also a physical player and he can use those tools to make plays.

It is important to note that in recent years the Bears ranked at or near the bottom in blitzes. In 2022, they ranked 29th in total blitzes and 25th in blitz percentage.

Part of the reason for that is the team’s reluctance to test the secondary. The Bears’ secondary was horrible just a couple of seasons ago. We see why they made an effort to draft secondary players early and often.

Now that they have the big three cornerbacks, the Bears could take more chances and blitz more. Gordon could be a big part of that. He will be more comfortable knowing that he just needs to concentrate on the slot. Sure, he will still play on the outside some. However, that is just to mix things up to keep offenses on their toes.

Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams talked about having Gordon more relaxed this season.

"It is a product of not being a rookie. It’s just relaxing. Last year everything was just in a frenzy because he wants to please, he wants to do, he wants to be so good, so it’s just ah, ah, ah, all the time. Now he’s ok, he’s relaxing. He’s playing within himself. He’s got his feet up underneath him."

This year, Gordon can feel more relaxed. He knows what his role is and can use the experience of last year to help him this year.

"I do feel extremely comfortable. I feel like I know my place, where I’m supposed to be and stuff like that, so definitely coming back this second year, I definitely don’t have any of the ‘where am I?’ like I did the first year. I feel like I know where I’m at, what’s going on."

Instead of having his mind run a million miles a minute, Gordon can just concentrate on his job. That helps him to just go out there and use his natural ability to make plays. Sometimes you think too much and end up missing out on plays.

With Johnson, Gordon, and Stevenson holding court in the secondary, and with the revamped linebackers and defensive line units this could be a much-improved defense in 2023. Add in the stellar play by All-Pro safety Eddie Jackson and Jaquon Brisker, who had an impressive rookie season, and the Chicago Bears are on their way to rebuilding the Monsters of the Midway.