Once again, I’d like to highlight one of the 10 thoughts from Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune.
When I asked GM [Ryan] Poles on Friday how he evaluated the outside cornerbacks, he mentioned how the addition of Jeffery Simmons should affect the entire defense.
“Going back to Jeffery, I think he’s a multiplier,” Poles said. “When you can provide pressure, you help your secondary tremendously. (Ben Johnson) hit on it: I think secondary-wise, it’s been some ups and downs. I love what I’ve seen Kyler (Gordon) do in certain situations. I’ve really liked Malik [Muhammad], his maturity. There’s been ups and downs for him, too, but he’s a young player.
“And then same with Jaylon [Johnson] and Tyrique [Stevenson]. There’s been ups and downs and they’re trying to find their way. But I do think when you add someone like Jeffery, you make a huge impact for them too.”
The Bears aren’t going to find a lot of available cornerback talent for trade, especially if its not for a premium price that they’re unlikely to pay.
I think Poles has a point. They concentrated on the area of the roster where talent is lacking. That’s the defensive line. There’s nothing you can do about that problem except find better players.
The solution to the Bears problems at cornerback is different. I think that they have the talent. They just need to do what Ben Johnson harped on all off-season: coach better. Reduce the number of mistakes that the cornerbacks are making and my gut tells me that, barring injury, they’d be just fine.