One of the strengths of the Chicago Bears roster is absolutely the secondary. Headlined by cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who's undeniably one of the NFL's top cover guys, the Bears boast a defensive backfield that rivals the top units in the NFL.
That is unless you ask Pro Football Focus.
In PFF's recent ranking of all 32 secondaries, the Bears rank in the bottom half of the NFL at No. 19.
"The Bears signed cornerback Jaylon Johnson to a big contract extension this offseason after a career year," PFF's John Koscko wrote. "They also added safety Kevin Byard, who’s been one of the best safeties in the NFL since entering the league. Cornerbacks Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson had their ups and downs in 2023, as did safety Jaquan Brisker, but this unit could be extremely good in 2024 if it plays to its high-end abilities."
Jaylon Johnson was targeted 5 times and only gave up 2 rec for 4 yards.
— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) November 28, 2023
He had a forced incompletion and an INT and only gave up a 8.3 passer rating.#DaBears #Bears
pic.twitter.com/l8a6OOPQh1
It's hard to argue with Koscko's assessment, which makes it confusing that a highly regarded group can rank this low.
Perhaps the Bears' ranking is more a result of how talented defensive backfields have become in recent years. A quick scan of the teams that rank ahead of Chicago results in a difficult task to find which club is incorrectly slotted ahead of the Bears. But that doesn't mean this year's group won't play their way into a top-five discussion next year this time.
In fact, I can't believe a unit of Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker, and Kevin Byard isn't in that conversation right now, let alone a year from now.
This is good news, though. The Bears' defense needs some bulletin board material, and PFF's ranking certainly qualifies as such. Jaylon Johnson has played with a chip on his shoulder after falling into the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and now that he's getting paid at the top of the cornerback market, he'll need some newfound motivation in 2024. As for the rest of his secondary running mates? Young players like Gordon, Stevenson, and Brisker are still trying to establish themselves as upper-tier NFL players. Some disrespectful preseason press is fuel for that fire.