Rookies Terell Smith, Tyrique Stevenson battle for starting cornerback spot

LAKE FOREST – Bears rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson knew it wouldn’t be easy. Coming in as a rookie, even being a second-round draft pick (56th overall) in April, Stevenson knew that a starting job wouldn’t be handed to him.

During OTAs in the spring, Stevenson looked like he was well on his way to locking up the No. 2 cornerback spot opposite veteran Jaylon Johnson. The Bears moved second-year pro Kyler Gordon to the nickel corner over the offseason, creating an opening on the outside.

But as training camp has begun, Stevenson increasingly finds himself battling with fellow rookie Terell Smith for snaps with the first-team defense. Smith, a fifth-round draft pick out of Minnesota, is giving Stevenson, who played college ball at Miami, a run for his money.

“It’s a competition until the end,” Stevenson said. “We both got drafted. For opportunities, it really doesn’t matter where you got drafted at. At the end of the day, he comes in ever day with his head down willing to work just as I am.”

“It’s a competition until the end. We both got drafted. For opportunities, it really doesn’t matter where you got drafted at.”

—  Tyrique Stevenson, Bears cornerback

Last year, Kindle Vildor played the outside cornerback spot when Gordon moved inside. Even though the Bears tout Matt Eberflus’ 4-3 defensive system as their base defense, they will swap out a linebacker for an extra cornerback the majority of the time. That’s just the way the NFL has gone as passing offenses have exploded throughout the league.

So the nickel corner is essentially a starter, even if he’s not technically on the field all the time. The Bears believe focusing solely on that role will be a good thing for Gordon. It also opens up that other outside corner position for one of the rookies.

“I feel like I’ve been able to show everything they’ve been asking for so far,” Smith told Shaw Local. “Just physicality, zone coverage, man coverage. I feel like, so far in camp, I’m checking all the boxes.”

Defensive coordinator Alan Williams is tasked with figuring out which of these rookie cornerbacks can fill the role better. Williams likes the approach these two have taken to the position battle.

“They embrace it,” Williams said. “They look after each other. They are good teammates. They’ve been just fine. No one iota of, ‘Hey, I should be in here,’ or, ‘Why is this?’ They are just fine.”

Johnson echoed that sentiment. He said the defense doesn’t look at it as a competition.

“They are not competing against each other,” Johnson said. “They’re competing against the offense. They got to go out there and make plays.”

But with a defense that just added pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue and has legitimate starters at nearly every spot, this cornerback position is one of the few true position battles right now.

For rookies at nearly all positions, NFL teams throw a lot of information at them. Gordon talked last week about how he finally feels like he can play freely now that he’s a year in and he knows all the schemes and concepts well.

At the cornerback position, where rookies are often targeted by opposing offenses, it can be tough to stay out of your own head.

“There’s a lot of things going on,” Stevenson said. “But I’m starting to get better with it, starting to really understand the playbook and understand what these coaches and this entire organization wants from me.”

Stevenson is a physical corner who, at 6-foot, 214 pounds, is big for the position. He doesn’t shy away from contact and he hits ball carriers hard.

Smith, 6-1, 204, called himself “a physical press man corner” who prides himself in being an all-around player.

Both players will be better off after having gone through a battle like this. The reality is that, with injuries in the NFL, the team will likely need both of them at some point this season.

“It doesn’t feel weird,” Smith said. “We’re just out there playing football and competing.”