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Bears Would Be Using Their Imagination with One Possible DB Selection

Bears coordinator Dennis Allen likes talent and not necessarily positional expertise, and with one player they showed interest in they would get exactly that.
Gene Chamberlain|
Arizona's Treydan Stukes lit up the NFL Scouting Combine with his 40 time and has the Bears' interest.
Arizona's Treydan Stukes lit up the NFL Scouting Combine with his 40 time and has the Bears' interest. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

One trouble with mock draft simulations is they get hung up on positions.  

Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen rarely seems confined in this way, and the Bears put a big emphasis now on the personnel department listening to the coaching staff while doing its work.

A player who might not fit into a conventional positional classification is Arizona DB Treydan Stukes, and he's gaining notoriety on draft boards after his combine work. He's also someone who had a formal interview at the combine with the Bears, according to NFL Draft On SI's Justin Melo.   

Melo reported Stukes also had formal interviews at the combine with the Vikings, Packers, Raiders, Jets, Giants, Bengals, and more than a dozen teams in all. He also had in-person visits with the Titans and Cardinals.

"I’m hearing that I’m flexible enough to play multiple positions with terrific versatility," Stukes said, according to Melo. "Wherever I end up, I’ll be willing to play wherever they have a plan for me."

Stukes surprised with the eighth-fastest 40 time at the combine of 4.33. Only Ohio State's Lorenzo Styles Jr. (4.27) and Cincinnati's Robert Spear-Jennings (4.32) ran faster times among safeties and the only other defensive player faster was Missouri cornerback Toriano Pride. Stukes also had a 38-inch vertical leap, as well.

So why don't people talk about Stukes as one of the top safeties? He hasn't played the position much.

The reason Stukes received less attention than other safety prospects until recently is he has been classified in many cases as a cornerback. Pro Football Focus operates this way, but Field Yates of ESPN has Stukes down as his fifth-best safety prospect.

Last year Stukes lined up in the slot or in the box 577 times and lined up deep just 19 times. He has been a slot cornerback in college with only 28 snaps at the deep safety spot. Before an injury-plagued 2024, He had 661 snaps in the slot and box in 2023 and only 61 outside at cornerback and only nine at safety.

Wherever they put him, he played well. His seven interceptions and 29 pass breakups say he knows how to play. At 6-1, 190, he has more of a cornerback's build. He'd probably need to add muscle and weight to be more of a classical safety.  

Stukes had four interceptions last year while playing better in zone coverage than in the past.

"I think I got pretty comfortable playing more zone coverage this past season," Melo reported Stukes as saying. "I was able to get my eyes on the quarterback and I made some plays on the football. I felt pretty good in zone coverage this past year."   

A player with speed, who plays well with his eyes on the QB can logically play safety.

It's anyone's guess how the Bears could be viewing Stukes considering the interest they've shown, but safety seems logical considering their lack of one starter there..  

Then again, might they think of him as a slot, and what would that mean for Kyler Gordon, who missed all but three games last year due to injuries after getting a $13 million-a-year extension?

Pro Football Focus has Stukes as the 61st best player overall, but he definitely doesn't look like a Brisker replacement.

He looks more like a Gordon replacement, although teams with holes in the starting lineup like the Bears have at safety can't be too picky about titles. They need fast, aggressive defensive players on the field regardless of position.

They can let secondary coach Al Harris and Allen figure out how best to use them once they’re in house.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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