The debut of Chicago Bears rookie cornerback Thomas Graham was everything that fans could have asked for and more. After tackles, pass break ups, and sound assignments, there should be plenty of positive to take away from the game. However, in typical Bears fashion, even when a day rookie excels in his NFL debut there has to be some type of drama.
Of course, given the talent of Graham and how he played, the first question most Bears fans were asking is why the heck has he not played sooner? The Chicago Bears have essentially gone the entire season without a decent second cornerback.
Kindle Vildor has held down the spot, but has been bad. On Monday, Graham was much better than Vildor as well. Even when Vildor was benched, they went to Artie Burns, who was immediately torched for a touchdown by Josh Reynolds.
Vildor and Artie Burns are veterans, but not the type of veterans that should be causing a team to push their young talent down the depth chart. It is obvious to say in the moment, but considering the troubles that they have had at second cornerback it is hard to imagine why they never even thought to give Graham a try.
Beyond that, the team has went to multiple slot cornerbacks. So many that they had to play Eddie Jackson in the slot. How did they never once think to call up Thomas Graham and give him a shot?
What makes this so surprising is that Ryan Pace is good at drafting two things. He is good at defenders drafted on day three. That is exactly what Graham is. We have seen from Adrian Amos, Bilal Nichols, and so on that many times these day three rookies can jump right in and contribute.
If Graham got a chance and failed week 6, then came back week 15 and did fine, so be it. He had a shot, and now deserves more. However, for him to sit on his hands while the Bears run through awful depth only to see him shine has to bring more questions about what the heck was going on behind the scenes. A stellar debut has to be met with skepticism for the front office.