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Bears Cornerback Depth Exists Later in Draft

The cornerback depth should last throughout the draft and if the Bears want to add quality to their roster instead of numbers at the position they can find help.
Gene Chamberlain|
Bears Cornerback Depth Exists Later in Draft
Bears Cornerback Depth Exists Later in Draft

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Chicago Bears

As the top-30 visits ended Wednesday for NFL teams, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the Bears had been one of the teams to host a meeting with Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks.

It might seem a rather pointless one considering what Banks did at the combine likely vaulted him to the end of Round 1 and that's one place the Bears seem unlikely to be picking—provided they don't trade up out of the Round 2.

Banks is the player who had a ridiculous 42-inch vertical leap, 4.35-second 40-yard time and a broad jump of 11-foot-4. In short, he sounded ready for the decathlon and not the NFL.

Banks didn't have the greatest college production, largely due to a junior year wiped out in Week 2 by a shoulder injury. If he had played out that season, it's possible he'd be up with Christian Gonzalez, Devon Witherspoon and the other top cornerbacks being mentioned as possible top-10 picks.

Cornerbacks are coveted in this game. It's obvious from the way they are paid, and this draft is possibly to cornerbacks what the last two drafts have been to wide receivers. It's loaded, as NFL.com's Lance Zierlein pointed out when he projected six going in Round 1 this year after 12 went in the first three rounds last year.

"There might not be a Sauce (Gardner) in this year's class, but there appears to be a higher number of players who will be starters in the NFL," he wrote.

For that reason, and several others, the Bears can be expected to draft a cornerback sometime earlier even though they badly need an offensive tackle, a defensive tackle and at least one edge rusher.

In fact, it wouldn't be surprising for them to draft two cornerbacks and then sign more after the draft.

They need qualified backups. No one doubts the effort of their backup cornerbacks but a team needs six on the roster now, five at the very least, and the Bears operated last year with two undrafted free agents as the backups to Kindle Vildor, Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon. Behind backups Jaylon Jones and Blackwell, they had veteran street free agents Greg Stroman, Harrison Hand and Michael Ojemudia. When Jones had to sit out the season finale ijrued, like Blackwell, they were left using practice squad cornerbacks.

Vildor went on IR with three left and missed six total, Johnson went on IR the last three games.

They were so depleted that they had to start rookie seventh-round safety Elijah Hicks at one of the three cornerback positions in the finale.

So adding actual draft picks at cornerback would elevate the talent level of the whole group.

And then there is always the other potential problem ahead. That is both Vildor and Johnson playing in the final seasons of their contracts.

The Bears can't go wrong with cornerbacks as long as they also address insufficiencies on the line of scrimmage.

Based on the NFL Mock Draft Database consensus big board, here's what they could find at cornerback on Day 3 up until pick No. 148, their final pick before Round 7.

All of this, of course, would be after they focused Days 1 and 2 on bolstering the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

Eli Ricks, Alabama 

A former LSU cornerback who hasn't played a lot of games, only 23, but had five interceptions and 10 pass defenses when he did. He had shoulder issues last year and in 2021, and the Bears would need to be sure he's over this. Not only did he produce, he also take back two interceptions for TDs, he has measurements like a starting NFL cornerback—6-foot-2, 188 pounds. His height is top 7% for cornerbacks and his arm length of 32 3/8 inches is top 19%.

Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, TCU

He might go off the board in Round 3 because he was outstanding last year in coverage, allowing only a 34% completion rate according to Pro Football Focus. He had an outstanding 41 pass defenses and 18 were in 2022. With good ability to support run defense, Hodges-Tomlinson seems a natural as a slot cornerback in the NFL because of his lack of size combined with great quickness. He was very explosive, posting a 4.41 40 time with a 1.5 10-yard split, 39-inch vertical and an 11-foot broad jump as a 5-foot-8, 178-pound prospect.

Kyu Blu Kelly, Stanford

He's not particularly fast as his 4.52-second 40 was in the bottom 36% of all cornerbacks but he had a 1.49-second split for 10 yards, which indicated great explosiveness, and his 10-foot-11 broad jump and 36-inch vertical confirmed this as well. At 6-foot, 191, he made three interceptions, had 23 pass breakups and got involved in a large number of tackles for a cornerback—147, for 37 games.

Cory Trice, Purdue

Some teams might consider him a safety since he played there for two seasons before finishing with two years at cornerback. He's built like a safety at 6-3, 210. At least the weight is like a safety. His weight is in the top 8% of cornerbacks and his height in the top 3%. His 4.47-second 40 didn't hurt him, and he had an 11-foot broad jump, that rated in the top 7%. On the field, he had five interceptions with two returned for TDs, and broke up 15 passes.

Riley Moss, Iowa

Some teams might want to put him at safety but his measurables say he can stack up at cornerback in the NFL. The only real problem is short arms that are 30 inches long, putting him in the bottom 8% for cornerbacks. However, he makes up for it with a 39-inch vertical leap and ran 4.45 in the 40-yard dash, 12th fastest at the combine for cornerbacks. More importantly, his split for the 40 at 10 yards was a blazing 1.48 seconds. Moss' production on the field says he can play anywhere. He made a whopping 11 interceptions with 26 pass defenses over five seasons, with two forced fumbles.

Kei'Trel Clark, Louisville

Tiny for an NFL cornerback in terms of weight at 5-10, 181. He started out at Liberty for one year before moving on. Despite his size, he still made plays on the ball with five interceptions and 28 pass defenses. Scouts call him a very willing and sound tackler despite his lack of size, but it's likely to force him to play inside rather than out on the edge against bigger receivers. His weight is in the bottom 10% of cornerbacks and his arm length at 29-5/8 is in the bottom 4%.

Jaylon Jones, Texas A&M

Same name as the Bears undrafted free agent backup cornerback from Mississippi. He grades out excellent in measurables at 6-2, 200. Although he had only a 4.57 40, he had a 1.48-second 10-yard split and had excellent verticality at 38 inches. A 6.88-second three-cone drill also indicated his athleticism and burst. Not experienced at 29 games played with three interceptions and 12 pass breakups, which could hold him down a bit.

Jakorian Bennett, Maryland

An extremely athletic cornerback who isn't the biggest player at 5-11, 188, but rocked the combine with a 4.3-second 40 and vertical leap of 40-1/2 inches. The vertical was in the top 9% and his 40 in the top 2%. He also was in the top 5% with an 11-foot-1 broad jump. He made five interceptions and 24 pass breakups in 27 games. He could probably play outside or inside but the great vertical leap indicates he'd probably get tried first outside.

Cameron Mitchell, Northwestern

He played 29 games for the Wildcats with two interceptions and two forced fumbles, while making 114 tackles. At 5-11, 191, he ran a 4.47-40 with a 1.48-second 10-yard split, top 8% among cornerbacks. He also had 15 reps in the bench, which isn't bad for his position.

Mekhi Garner, LSU

Another cornerback with excellent size at 6-2, 212. This transfer from Louisiana has hands that are 10-1/8 inches. All of those measurements rank in the top 7% or better. His 4.55-second 40 was a bit on the slow side, which makes some think he'd be a safety. He combined great size with a 38-inch vertical leap and 10-foot-8 broad jump. He made three interceptions, forced three fumbles and had 23 pass breakups.

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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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