Rookie season expectations: Chicago Bears CB Kyler Gordon
The Chicago Bears drafted Kyler Gordon, a cornerback from Washington in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. With second-round draft capital comes an expectation that he is going to impact the team immediately.
What are reasonable expectations for the first year of Kyler Gordon? Below we can see every rookie cornerback drafted in the second round since 2011. In 2011 the CBA changed and rookies were more valuable to get on the field early, so this is a good cut-off point. There are 39 below sorted from the best season to the worst.
| Rk | Player | AV | Season | Age | Team | G | GS | AV | Pos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Janoris Jenkins | 8 | 2012 | 24 | STL | 15 | 14 | 8 | RCB |
| 2 | Ronald Darby | 6 | 2015 | 22 | BUF | 15 | 15 | 6 | LCB |
| 3 | Donte Jackson | 6 | 2018 | 23 | CAR | 16 | 16 | 6 | RCB |
| 4 | James Bradberry | 5 | 2016 | 23 | CAR | 13 | 13 | 5 | LCB |
| 5 | Tyson Campbell | 5 | 2021 | 21 | JAX | 15 | 14 | 5 | CB |
| 6 | Jaylon Johnson | 5 | 2020 | 21 | CHI | 13 | 13 | 5 | RCB |
| 7 | Byron Murphy | 5 | 2019 | 21 | ARI | 16 | 16 | 5 | LCB |
| 8 | Rock Ya-Sin | 5 | 2019 | 23 | IND | 15 | 13 | 5 | lcb |
| 9 | Johnthan Banks | 4 | 2013 | 24 | TAM | 16 | 16 | 4 | RCB |
| 10 | Sean Murphy-Bunting | 4 | 2019 | 22 | TAM | 16 | 10 | 4 | rcb |
| 11 | Carlton Davis | 4 | 2018 | 22 | TAM | 13 | 12 | 4 | LCB |
| 12 | Trevon Diggs | 4 | 2020 | 22 | DAL | 12 | 11 | 4 | RCB |
| 13 | Casey Hayward | 4 | 2012 | 23 | GNB | 16 | 7 | 4 | rcb |
| 14 | Josh Jackson | 4 | 2018 | 22 | GNB | 16 | 10 | 4 | rcb |
| 15 | Greedy Williams | 4 | 2019 | 22 | CLE | 12 | 12 | 4 | RCB |
| 16 | Trayvon Mullen | 3 | 2019 | 22 | OAK | 16 | 10 | 3 | RCB |
| 17 | Quinten Rollins | 3 | 2015 | 23 | GNB | 14 | 4 | 3 | CB |
| 18 | Asante Samuel Jr. | 3 | 2021 | 22 | LAC | 12 | 12 | 3 | CB |
| 19 | Robert Alford | 2 | 2013 | 25 | ATL | 16 | 4 | 2 | CB |
| 20 | Jalen Collins | 2 | 2015 | 22 | ATL | 16 | 2 | 2 | CB |
| Rk | Player | AV | Season | Age | Team | G | GS | AV | Pos |
| 21 | Duke Dawson | 2 | 2019 | 24 | DEN | 14 | 3 | 2 | CB |
| 22 | Xavien Howard | 2 | 2016 | 23 | MIA | 7 | 6 | 2 | rcb |
| 23 | Kevin King | 2 | 2017 | 22 | GNB | 9 | 5 | 2 | rcb |
| 24 | Eric Rowe | 2 | 2015 | 23 | PHI | 16 | 5 | 2 | rcb |
| 25 | Darius Slay | 2 | 2013 | 23 | DET | 13 | 4 | 2 | CB |
| 26 | Aaron Williams | 2 | 2011 | 21 | BUF | 9 | 6 | 2 | lcb |
| 27 | Quincy Wilson | 2 | 2017 | 21 | IND | 7 | 5 | 2 | CB |
| 28 | Mackensie Alexander | 1 | 2016 | 23 | MIN | 13 | 0 | 1 | CB |
| 29 | Kristian Fulton | 1 | 2020 | 22 | TEN | 6 | 2 | 1 | CB |
| 30 | Cyrus Jones | 1 | 2016 | 23 | NWE | 10 | 1 | 1 | CB |
| 31 | Kelvin Joseph | 1 | 2021 | 21 | DAL | 10 | 2 | 1 | CB |
| 32 | Lamarcus Joyner | 1 | 2014 | 24 | STL | 10 | 1 | 1 | CB |
| 33 | Isaiah Oliver | 1 | 2018 | 22 | ATL | 14 | 2 | 1 | CB |
| 34 | Teez Tabor | 1 | 2017 | 22 | DET | 10 | 1 | 1 | CB |
| 35 | Jamar Taylor | 1 | 2013 | 23 | MIA | 9 | 0 | 1 | CB |
| 36 | Joejuan Williams | 1 | 2019 | 22 | NWE | 9 | 0 | 1 | CB |
| 37 | Brandon Harris | 0 | 2011 | 21 | HOU | 7 | 0 | 0 | CB |
| 38 | Stanley Jean-Baptiste | 0 | 2014 | 24 | NOR | 4 | 0 | 0 | CB |
| 39 | Sidney Jones | 0 | 2017 | 21 | PHI | 1 | 0 | 0 | CB |
About 18 of these players made a legitimate impact as a starter on the roster. It Is worth noting that of the three cornerbacks who did not start as rookies, the only to still be in the NFL is Sidney Jones, who had an Achilles injury before the draft.
You can also see from players 19-39 that there are not many success stories beyond Darius Slay, Xavien Howard, and Kristian Fulton. However, these three all missed significant time as rookies due to injury. Others may have been struggling to get on the field.
This speaks to the idea that if Gordon is not contributing as a rookie, and is not injured, there is a bad chance for his future prospects.
Still, some of the cornerbacks from the list above were
Jaylon Johnson
Trevon Diggs
Ronald Darby
Casey Hayward
Janoris Jenkins
James Bradberry
Xavien Howard
Carlton Davis
Trayvon Mullen
They all went on to have successful careers, and as long as Gordon hits a rookie season similar to these players, he should be in the right place.
According to PFF, this group of players allowed 44 catches on 78 targets on average during their rookie season. That came with 556 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions with 12 forced incompletions.
NFL comparison for Zach Thomas. dark. Next
It will be fun to go back and look at these numbers after the rookie season of Gordon and see whether or not he hit these barriers that make him like these other round two hits, or if he is closer to names like Quincy Wilson and Duke Dawson after their first season.