Cornerbacks:
Projected Starters: Kyle Fuller, Tracy Porter, Bryce Callahan (nickel)
The argument can be made that the cornerback position is the weakest unit for the Bears. The most athletic cornerback on the roster is Kyle Fuller who just had arthroscopic surgery on his knee last week. According to head coach John Fox, Fuller is week to week with no set time-frame for return. This is not good news for an already struggling position. The Bears are currently on the hunt to add some warm bodies to this unit through free agency.
Depth: Deiondre Hall, De’Vante Bausby, Sherrick McMannis, Taveze Calhoun (practice squad)
A whole lot of question marks here. First off Brandon Boykin is on the roster but was immediately put on injured reserve. We have yet to see him practice and we have no idea how he’s going to look when he does start practicing. The other names on the roster are mostly unknowns with little to know experience. Dear Kyle Fuller, Get Well Soon!
Best Case: Vic Fangio’s defensive scheme asks more from the front 7 and takes stress off the secondary, which has enabled him to have a lot of success with average and above average corners in the past. You can make the case that Fuller, when healthy, is better than above average, but hasn’t shown the skill of a true number 1 CB in the last two seasons. Tracy Porter has moments where he looks like a pro-bowler and moments where he looks like he should retire. The ceiling for this group isn’t great and it lowers every day Fuller sits out.
Worst Case: Have you ever heard of the Marianas Trench? It is the deepest part of the Ocean floor and is currently where the floor of the Bears cornerback position lives. Fuller isn’t practicing, Tracy Porter could get old real quick, and Deiondre Hall has had moments in practice where he looked good but is still a very raw rookie. Brandon Boykin was brought in to push for the nickelback spot and hasn’t even practiced yet. The pangs of desperation brought Antonio Cromartie to Halas Hall for a tryout. It’s not hard to see this go very bad very quickly.
Cap Hit: Tracy Porter (3.9 mil), Kyle Fuller (2.6 mil), Bryce Callahan (525k), Deiondre Hall (578k), Brandin Boykin (600k), De’vante Bausby (450k), Sherrick McMannis (1.4 mil). All of these players combined are under 11 mil cap hit for 2016. This is ridiculously low compared to the rest of the league but given the level of talent of this group they are probably appropriately paid.
Projected 2016 Ranking: Bottom 5
Next: Safeties