When Ryan Poles and his Chicago Bears entered this past offseason, there was one position headed for some big-time change.
At safety, the Bears were set to have a brand-new starting duo with both Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker being allowed to hit free agency.
Some fans entertained the idea of letting one go while re-signing the other, but Chicago opted to start fresh. It could have been a dangerous proposition, had Chicago not ended up with rookie Dillon Thieneman and the ascending Cam Lewis until Coby Bryant returns from injury.
Byard went to the New England Patriots while Brisker signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the latter has been looking exactly like the guy Bears fans remember.
Jaquan Brisker is validating the Bears' decision to let him walk
In Chicago, Brisker was as inconsistent as anybody on the defensive side of the ball. Bears fans remember him as a guy who could make plays near the line of scrimmage and come up big, at times.
Other plays, he'd get caught looking in coverage and, in the blink of an eye, allow a chunk play. He wasn't somebody to depend on in coverage, and the Steelers are finding that out firsthand.
On the season, Brisker has been fine against the run, but that's about it. Pittsburgh has over-performed in many eyes, and they're in position to compete for the AFC North title. Brisker is becoming a liability, and quickly.
At the midway point, Brisker is allowing an average of 10.5 yards per reception and a catch on 75.0% of targets that come his way.
Just recently, against the Cleveland Browns, Brisker allowed Shedeur Sanders to complete an average of 24.5 yards per completion going his way (two receptions on three targets).
Brisker has also missed at least one tackle in five of his first eight games this year, missing multiple tackles on two occasions. He's boasting a missed tackle percentage of over 13.0% per Pro Football Focus.
He hasn't forced a fumble, nor has he recovered one. He's broken up just three passes on 320 coverage snaps this year.
Brisker is essentially what he was in Chicago.
When he's out on the field, he's just ... out there. He isn't doing all that much to help the Steelers win games.
Even Tommy Jaggi of Still Curtain thinks Brisker might end up partially losing his job to a seventh-round rookie in the near future:
"I think he'll start losing playing lime to seventh-round rookie Robert Spears-Jennings at this rate," Jaggi told me.
Jaggi also agreed with the overall assessment that Brisker is simply an inconsistent player, and the Steelers cannot afford that type when trying to make a playoff and, hopefully, Super Bowl run.
Dillon Thieneman still has room to become the Jaquan Brisker replacement Chicago drafted him to be
Now, in the spirit of fairness, the Bears' first-round rookie has had some growing pains. Dillon Thieneman has had some excellent moments, but he's also seen some of those rookie mistakes surface at times.
If we're going to pick on Brisker's missed tackles, we might as well do the same for Thieneman, who also has a missed tackle percentage over 13.0%, having missed multiple tackles in a pair of games on the season.
Thieneman has been credited with giving up two touchdowns in coverage this season, per PFF, and is allowing an opposing quarterback rating of 100.2. Now, to go with those not-so-great numbers, Thieneman also has five pass breakups and an interception this year.
Inconsistent seems to be the commonality, here.
He's been very good near the line of scrimmage, though, posting 1.5 sacks on the year, to this point, along with two tackles for loss.
The arrow is certainly pointing up for the first rounder, who has plenty of room to grow and possesses much more athleticism than Brisker. Hopefully, Dennis Allen can continue to get more and more out of the former Oregon and Purdue star.
Add us as a preferred source on Google