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Several of the Chicago Bears‘ newest additions have struggled in the early going this season, though cornerback Terell Smith isn’t one of them.
Smith played either sparingly or not at all over the first couple of weeks but has proven an important addition to the defense since.
Ryan Fowler of Bleacher Report on Saturday, October 7, dubbed Smith among the top steals from the 2023 draft through five games.
A fifth-rounder out of Minnesota, Terell Smith has been a perfect case of taking advantage of an opportunity. He didn’t play in Week 1 and played only four snaps in Week 2 before moving into a starter’s role.
Since working opposite of fellow first-year corner Tyrique Stevenson in a Week-3 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, the 6’0″ corner has allowed only five catches on 13 targets for 131 yards.
An athletic mover with ball skills and instincts to boot, he’s rapidly become one of Chicago’s top perimeter corners and a heck of a Day-3 find from general manager Ryan Poles.
Terell Smith Has Played His Way into Bears’ Rotation, Even as Secondary Gets Healthy
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GettyCornerback Jaylon Johnson of the Chicago Bears in action during an NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers in September 2022.
Smith played well early in training camp and became a legitimate contender to win the No. 2 cornerback job along with Stevenson and second-year DB Kyler Gordon. Smith appeared the frontrunner for the position for a short period of time over the summer before an injury sidelined him and cleared the way for Stevenson to win the job with relative ease.
Gordon began the season as the Bears’ nickel corner but suffered a broken hand in September and landed on the injured reserve list (IR). Head coach Matt Eberflus said that if all went well with Gordon’s surgery he could return following Chicago’s Thursday Night Football game against the Washington Commanders, which was played three days ago.
Jaylon Johnson, the Bears’ top cornerback, has missed the previous two contests with a hamstring injury he sustained against the Chiefs but said Friday that he plans to return next weekend against the Minnesota Vikings. However, the renewed health of Chicago’s secondary shouldn’t impact Smith’s snaps too much considering how good he’s been during his rookie campaign.
Terell Smith Could Challenge Tyrique Stevenson for Starting Spot in Bears’ Secondary
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GettyCornerback Tyrique Stevenson of the Chicago Bears has struggled since earning the starting job as a rookie.
Johnson has been the sixth-best cornerback in the NFL this season, according to advanced analytics calculated by Pro Football Focus, and will return to the starting lineup as soon as he’s physically able.
However, Smith ranks 27th in the league at the position based on the same PFF metrics. Smith has been specifically good against the run, with a player grade of 90.5 in that category. He is also more than 10 points better in pass coverage than Stevenson, who PFF ranks 81st out of 107 cornerbacks who have played enough snaps to qualify at the position.
At the very least, Smith has positioned himself among Chicago’s top four cornerbacks. However, his performance over the past few weeks warrants usurping Gordon as the team’s third CB and potentially even taking Stevenson’s spot in the starting lineup.