Chicago Bears: 5 Day 3 slot cornerbacks

Who are slot cornerbacks who the Chicago Bears should target in the middle rounds?

The Chicago Bears re-signed Bryce Callahan to his tender. However, signing him to a one-year deal at a lower than starter level pay does not signify their long-term investment in the slot cornerback. If the team goes through the draft without making a selection at the position, they may think extension, but until then, he is still fighting for everything. With that said, if the board breaks in certain ways, they may feel the desire to pull the trigger on a slot cornerback. Who are five options that, at the right time in the draft, they could make that move on?

Duke Dawson, Florida, Round: 4

There is a chance that by the time round four rolls around and Dawson is on the board, he could be the Chicago Bears best player available. It would be less about replacing Callahan and more of an overall value thing. In our first mock, before Callahan signed, Dawson was the fourth round pick.

Dawson played outside a decent amount at Florida but due to not only his height but also his slows hips to turn around in coverage combined with average long speed, he should be looked at as a slot option in the NFL.

Dawson shows a lot of skills that translate to the slot in the NFL. The most notable is how physical he is. He would have no problem playing close to the box and loves to stick his head in against the run.

Dawson excels at inward breaking routes due to his physicality. This will be a common occurrence for him in the NFL, and he showed an ability to break the pass away with physicality from the slot and the outside.

Dawson profiles as a solid special teams option. Dawson is a heady player who should be good in the locker room, meeting room, and special teams. Coming from the slot, you can see he is communicating as the three pass catchers break. Florida plays it perfectly and Dawson is able to shade the deep route and break on the cross to make a play on the ball.

Dawson is on the outside below. He follows the cross well but sees the pass coming to the outside. He bails on his man and makes a play on the ball in the red zone.

His combination of physicality, smarts, and quick feet give him a great chance in the slot. A high upside slot receiver prospect in Christian Kirk was not able to get separation over the middle on Dawson. Dawson showed light feet and smooth lateral agility.

The feet show as he does not fall for the inward breaking route and pushes his receiver to the sideline with no room to make a play.

While you can argue Callahan is better than Dawson now, the same argument could be made that right now Dawson is better. The upside in Dawson is higher and he may get on the field as a starter by the end of the season. At the least, his special team’s value and ability to get on the field as a dime defensive back should be intriguing in round four.

M.J. Stewart, North Carolina, Round: 4

M.J. Stewart also spent time on the outside but was used in a variety of ways in college. His size and physicality have many projecting Stewart to either the slot or safety.

When you watch Stewart you can see exactly why. As shown in his athletic profile he is shorter than any team would like for an outside corner. However, he is long, he is thick, and he is strong.

M.J. Stewart was a physical player at North Carolina. He did not record a single interception in his last two seasons but did record two sacks and two forced fumbles over that times. Even when he played on the outside, a lot of his best work was against the run and getting upfield.

As a rangy safety/slot cornerback hybrid, his skill set fits perfectly. You can see below that he can sniff out plays behind the line of scrimmage, evade blocks and explode upfield to make plays behind the line of scrimmage. In the bottom play, he beats one blocker to the punch with speed and one with power.

Stewart can also blitz off of the edge. M.J Stewart is clearly best near the line of scrimmage and like Dawson provides special teams play with dime upside in year one. Blitzing off of the edge was a strong suit of Callahan and if 2018 were not to go Callahan’s way, Stewart could be a replacement. Dawson is more fluid in coverage, and the Bears may want to wait for the second fourth before seeing if Stewart is around. However, in that spot, he is a great value.

Avonte Maddox, Pittsburgh, Round 5-6

Avonte Maddox enters the NFL draft with one of the smallest frames in the entire class. Do not tell him that, though. You can easily see from his mockdraftable web that Maddox plays like one of the bigger athletes on the field, despite his measurables giving him little chance.

Avonte Maddox played on the outside last season and often lined up against the oppositions biggest and best. What he showed in that tape is a player who plays much bigger than his size.

Maddox is physical, smart and is always in position to make plays on the football. Maddox has great feet off of the line of scrimmage, which makes translating to the slot easier. He also has the long speed to hang with any receiver. His technique is excellent as shown in the play below. He runs with Cam Phillips down the field and boxes out the bigger wide receiver to put himself in position to make a play on the ball.

His ball skills are very strong, and while he finished with two interceptions last season, plays like the one below where the receiver is defending the reception are scattered in his tape. Maddox has better ball skills than advertised by this number.

Watch this inward breaking route. Again, Maddox is the receiver, as Phillips has to defend the ball away. The physicality is there of a player bigger than he measures.

You are going to get a discount on round value because of the size. Avonte Maddox is going to have a chance to start in the NFL at some point in his career. His demeanor brings special teams value and his skill set brings upside that overcomes size. Maddox would be a great late round bet.

Parry Nickerson,  Tulane, Round 5-6

Parry Nickerson comes in about as fast as Avonte Maddox. However, people may know the name of Nickerson more after he ran the fastest 40 in 2018.

Still, a hamstring injury sidelined him for the rest of the day. Nickerson showed fluidity and tested well, putting up a good short shuttle time at his Pro Day. However, like Maddox, he is an undersized outside cornerback attempting to move inside.

Still, while you would like to see his quick agility in number form, coming from his tape, this is a player who should be able to transition. Obviously,

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the thing with Nickerson is his speed. Whether it be down the field or blitzing from the slot, he has it. Below, he is stride for stride with Anthony Miller, a notable prospect. Nickerson boxes Miller out and almost comes down with a spectacular interception.

Still, while some of Maddox’s good ball skills show on tape, Nickerson has a career total of 16 interceptions to just 8 of Maddox. While Maddox did face bigger receivers and better quarterbacks at Pitt, Nickerson has elite ball skills. He should be able to come in and returns punts and kicks as well.

Nickerson and Maddox are both physical, speedy slot cornerback options that could turn into starters. Nickerson is a little older than Maddox, and despite the better ball skills, and speed, may not have the same quick agility and understanding that Maddox does. If Maddox is there, he gets the nod, but both should be on their radar.

Darius Phillips, Western Michigan, Round 7

Darius Phillips is what you would expect from a slot cornerback. He does not blow you away with athleticism and certainly does not have size on his advantage. However, he is just a player that is always in the right spot that you just want to keep around the roster.

Phillips is an interesting prospect as he entered WMU as a receiving prospect. However, after his redshirt freshman year, he was onto the defensive backfield. In his very first season, he was a second-team All-MAC pick. There is something there.

Phillips plays with the receiver, my ball mentality. He is quickly-footed of an undersized receiver and breaks on the ball with aggression and speed, as shown below.

Phillips returned punts, recorded 12 interceptions in three years and finished his career as a first-team All-MAC defender. He is undersized, and it shows greatly against the run. This is an issue whereas the physicality of Maddox and Nickerson give them an ability to typically overcome their size, Phillips does not play with that edge.

However, every once in a while you get a play like the one below. Phillips shows poor form and almost gets ran over in run support. However, he is a receiver and he knows where that football is. Phillips grasps on and holds onto that football, eventually prying it free. He is able to find it, pick it up and burst into the end zone for a game-changing interception as a huge underdog to Michigan State.

In the seventh round, give me this kid.