Jacoby Glenn (6’0 | 180) – An undrafted free agent in 2015 who many predicted to be a 4th-5th round draft pick but slipped out of the draft completely, allowing the Bears to add a player more talented than most UDFAs. Glenn has ideal length at 6’0, but when drafted was about 175 pounds which is probably why a player with his natural coverage skills slipped out of the draft.
Despite his lack of bulk, Glenn has NFL coverage skills. He lacks the pure speed to cover on an island (4.60), but has above-average instincts, good length, high-points the ball well, is an aggressive run-defender and fits well in the man/zone hyrbid coverage that the Bears ran often last season.
Glenn could use 10-15 pounds of muscle and he may have added some this off-season after being called up to the Bears active roster the last few weeks of the season, which bodes well for his chances to contribute in 2016. Glenn has above-average ball-skills with seven interceptions as a college senior, doesn’t shy away from the run, and gives the Bears a new dimension as a tall corner who can make plays on the ball and generate turnovers.
The talent is there for Glenn to be the Bears 4th cornerback and not only excel in the role but push starting CBs Kyle Fuller and Tracy Porter for jobs. In college, Glenn was one of the best players in his conference (American Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2014, All-American Conference in 2013) and if given a legitimate chance with the Bears could prove to be one of the best corners on the team as well. You can read more about Glenn when I write my 2016 breakout player predictions.
Sherrick McManis (6’1 | 197) – Anyone that watched Bears games in the first half of last season witnessed how bad McManis was at corner on a weekly basis. He wasn’t quick enough to cover shorter receivers and despite being a shade over 6 foot, was too small to cover tall receivers.
McManis is an outstanding special teams player and deserves a roster spot based on that alone, but when finally given a chance to play corner last year… I think the Fox and Fangio realized why the old regime limited McManis to just special teams. Unless there was an undisclosed injury that the Bears hid, McManis just isn’t fluid enough to cover NFL receivers. If the Bears end up playing him in a significant defensive role, things went way wrong at some point of the season.
Next: More Cornerback Options