Chicago Bears News: Was Kyler Gordon quietly a loser from the 2023 NFL draft?
Kyler Gordon had a poor rookie season, and not many people will argue that. However, the question the Chicago Bears had to answer was how much the pass rush was impacting him. Beyond that, Kyler Gordon was moving in and out of the slot, so the team was essentially asking him to play two positions.
Are Chicago Bears keeping Kyler Gordon in the slot?
Last season Gordon spent 431 snaps in the slot, and 295 outside. They may just make the full transition and keep him inside. When you look at Tyrique Stevenson he transferred from Georgia to Miami so that he could get more looks on the outside and fewer looks in the slot.
Beyond that, Terell Smith, their fifth-round pick does not have any slot experience. So, when you start to look at the depth chart, the Chicago Bears have plenty of options to start on the outside.
The Chicago Bears play nickel about 70% of the time, and when they do, Gordon would move inside. However, he still got those outside snaps when they were not in nickel. Now, it would make sense for Stevenson to take them. He is physically a better fit outside, and it would help Gordon focus on just one position. They also have depth in Smith and Kindle Vildor to the point where Gordon may just stop getting any work on the outside.
Even though Gordon will likely play 70% of the snaps, he was getting 100% of the snaps last season. So, that in itself is a drop and would suggest that the NFL draft did not go the way he would want. The Chicago Bears can blame the pass rush but have to see from the tape that he was in over his head last season.
Another interesting factor is how often the Chicago Bears will play three linebackers. Nicholas Morrow played about every snap for the Bears last season and now he could hardly crack the top four names on the depth chart.
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We know Tremaine Edmunds and TJ Edwards will play every snap, but any snap that one of Jack Sanborn and Noah Sewell is on the field is now a snap that Kyler Gordon is not on the field. Do the Chicago Bears play one of Sewell or Sanborn just about 30% of the time, then the other is just a special teams player, and Gordon plays 70%, or do they eat into his snap count? We will see, but you have to admit that these questions were not being asked about Gordon before the draft.