When Chicago Bears' cornerback Tyrique Stevenson's name gets mentioned, his role in the Hail Mary against the Washington Commanders in Week 8 last season will be the first thing that comes to mind until further notice. That loss was the first of 10 in a row for the Bears, turning a 4-2 start into a 5-12 final record.
Stevenson owned his failure on that fateful play, as he was captured engaging with the crowd rather than focusing on the play before running towards the play late, missing what his responsibility was and deflecting the ball to a waiting Noah Brown in the end zone.
Last season overall was a rough one for Stevenson. While some more direct numbers (completion percentage allowed, passer rating allowed) were better than his 2023 rookie season, his overall Pro Football Focus grade (58.9) was 134th out of 222 cornerbacks with parallel dismal grades as a run defender and in coverage.
With Jaylon Johnson locking things down at one outside cornerback spot and Kyler Gordon among the better slot corners in the league, the Bears' opponents targeted Stevenson heavily last year, and found profit more often than not.
In the Chicago secondary as a whole, it's easy to see Stevenson is the weak spot. With competition set to push him for snaps, namely fifth-round rookie Zah Frazier and fellow third-year man Terell Smith, 2025 is a big season for Stevenson.
Tyrique Stevenson in rare company as a ballhawk over the last two seasons
On the back side of being targeted as much as Stevenson gets targeted (191 times over the last two seasons, according to PFF), are opportunities to make plays. He has six interceptions and 28 pass breakups over 32 career games, and with those surface stats in mind he is in some unique company.
Only five other defensive backs, according to PFF, have 20 or more forced incompletions and five or more interceptions over the last two seasons.
Ballhawks in the secondary 🔒 pic.twitter.com/P1plBa1hcL
— PFF (@PFF) July 11, 2025
Sharing a list with Brian Branch, Derek Stingley and Riq Woolen is a big positive for Stevenson to move toward his third season with.
During a recent appearance on 670 The Score's "Mully and Haugh", as the Bears' 2023 draft class was being discussed, Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune noted how a fresh start under new coaches should benefit Stevenson a lot.
"As far as a breakout candidate, I’m going to give you Tyrique Stevenson", Wiederer said. “Because I think his skill set, I think his union with both (defensive coordinator) Dennis Allen and (cornerbacks coach) Al Harris, set him up for a real prove-it season with the defense that the Bears are vowing to play, with more press man coverage, man-to-man coverage overall."
"And Tyrique Stevenson’s got an opportunity here to put the horror of last year behind him. I really do appreciate his mindset," Wiederer continued. "He’s got an edge to him."
Read more: Jaquan Brisker is well-lined up for a bounce-back season (with one big caveat)
Stevenson has a lot to prove this season. One thing he doesn't need to show is his status as a ballhawk relative to the other defensive backs in the league, since the evidence of that is absolutely clear.