As I mentioned in my last position post, the Chicago Bears corner group is as good as there is in football. The safety group is also good, and while not in the same category as the corners, it’s still pretty darn good
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When I worked with this defense under Lovie Smith, we had a lot of success with safeties. What we looked for were physical players with good cover and ball skills. It’s a plus if one of their strong points is man-to-man coverage, and without question, they have to be very good in zone coverage.
The safety group was good when healthy the last couple of years, but I don’t believe it was where Head Coach Matt Eberflus wanted it to be. Eddie Jackson had great ball skills, but he was not very physical, and his interception total had dropped off dramatically in recent years. Strong safety Jaquan Brisker was very physical but inconsistent with his coverage, as he just lacked experience.
During the off-season, the Bears decided to cut Jackson as he was not playing up to his huge salary. In his place, they signed veteran Kevin Byard, who is the same age as Jackson (30) but a much more productive player and a player who is way more physical in the run game. Byard has 28 career interceptions to Jackson’s 15, and when we figure in his value as a run support player, we see that the Bears now have a huge upgrade at the position at half the price that Jackson was costing.
Joining Byard as the starter will again be Jaquan Brisker, who, now that he is in his third season, should be a much better all-around player. One thing Brisker needs to do is stay healthy, as he has missed a total of four games in his first two seasons with some lingering issues that have seen him come out of games.
Brisker is excellent in run support and a big hitter, but I felt his coverage was a bit inconsistent. He has the traits and skill set but just needs more experience in coverage. I felt that Brisker was playing his best football as a pro during the second half of last year. In his last five games, Jaquan had 44 total tackles. Where he has to show improvement is with takeaways, as he has just one interception in each of his first two seasons
With Byard and Brisker paired together, the Bears may have one of the fastest set of safeties in the League. Both were timed 4.46 or better when they came out of college. Without question, it is the most physical set of safeties in years.
What will help the safeties this year is that the Bears coaches have changed how the safeties line up. Instead of a free and strong safety, the Bears safeties will line up left and right. In essence, both will play free or strong, depending on the offensive formation. When I was with the Giants in the Parcells years, this is how we played our safeties. By being left and right instead of strong and free, it can cause confusion for the offense as to what the coverage is and that helps the defense as a whole.
One thing the Bears safety group has lacked in the last few years is depth. If Jackson or Brisker went down with an injury there wasn’t an experienced player to fill in. That has changed for this year. During free agency, the Bears signed veteran Johnathan Owens. Owens started 17 games for Houston in 2022 and 11 games for Green Bay last year. He is a big hitting safety with good cover skills. He also is a very good special teams player, so he will have a presence on this Bears squad.
The Bears have two other experienced safeties on the roster, but both need to prove they are worthy to be on the 53 during training camp.
Travarius Moore has been in the League since 2018 and has shown talent, but since he tore his Achilles in 2021, he hasn’t done much. He was with Green Bay in camp last year but got injured and was placed on injured reserve at the final cutdown.
Adrian Colbert has been with several clubs but has only played in a total of 42 games with 22 starts going back to 2017. Unless he proves otherwise in camp, his best football may be behind him.
Right now, the best bet to be the fourth safety on the Bears squad is third-year man Elijah Hicks. Hicks has played in 32 games with eight starts in his first two seasons. He is very athletic and a better-than-average hitter. Now that he is in his third season, he should take a big jump. When he has had to play, he has been fine, but not really what the team wants as a starter.
One other player who has a strong chance of making the club is second-year player Quindell Johnson. Johnson was a UDFA a year ago who originally signed with the Rams. The Bears had liked Johnson during the draft process but were unable to sign him post-draft. When he got cut at the final cutdown last summer, the Bears claimed him on waivers. He played in nine games, most as a special teamer. He has the size and athleticism the Bears prefer at the position, so he will get a good look during camp.
Overall, I like the look of the Bears safety group going into camp. The talent is there for the Bears to get the best play at the position in a number of years.
