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Chicago Bears rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson is putting the NFL on notice and looking to show the league the type of player he can become from the first play against the Green Bay Packers in their September 10 season opener.
During a rookie diary series for ChicagoBears.com, Stevenson talked about how his interception in the Bears’ preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills helped instill confidence in him heading into the first game of the 2023 season. He also issued a warning to the Packers and the league about what to expect from him “from Play 1” when he steps onto the field for the first real matchup of his NFL career.
“From Play 1 next Sunday, I want to put the NFL and everybody on notice, make sure I go out and be the best version of Tyrique Stevenson every snap,” Stevenson said. “I want to represent the Bears in the right way, especially in a game like that. I want to go out there, keep a level head and make plays like they brought me here to do.”
The Bears traded up to get Stevenson at No. 56 overall in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft, giving up a fifth-rounder to move up five spots for an aggressive press corner who had played with excellent physicality and ball skills over his three years at Miami. Now, after a preseason filled with learning opportunities, he is expected to be a Day 1 starter for their defense on the perimeter opposite veteran starter Jaylon Johnson.
Terell Lewis Should Continue to Push Tyrique Stevenson
Stevenson certainly earned his opportunity to be a Day 1 starter for the Bears over the course of the preseason. While he had a handful of miscues in coverage as a result of his aggressiveness and allowed a pair of interceptions to slip through his hands over his 116 preseason snaps, he proved he has a nose for the ball and brought a consistent level of edge and intensity to the perimeter that meshes perfectly with the Bears’ scheme.
Stevenson will have to make sure he doesn’t take his foot off the gas once the regular season begins, though, with fifth-round rookie Terell Smith still hunting for snaps.
The Bears split their first-team reps between Stevenson and Smith during the early parts of the summer, allowing the two rookies to duke it out in competition despite being drafted three rounds apart from each other. While an injury forced the Bears to pump the brakes a bit with Smith and hold him out of their second preseason game, he still projects to be their top rotational option on the outside when the season begins and could continue to apply pressure to Stevenson all throughout their rookie season.
Bears Secondary Could Be 2023 Defense’s Biggest Asset
The Bears have made some significant additions to their defense aside from Stevenson over the past several months. They signed a pair of big-time linebackers — Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards — to the middle of the unit in free agency in addition to drafting a promising future/rotational piece in fifth-rounder Noah Sewell.
They have also added more meaningful depth across their defensive line, whether it be rookie tackles Gervon Dexter Sr. and Zacch Pickens on the interior or veterans Yannick Ngakoue, DeMarcus Walker and Rasheem Green working off the edges. As a unit, on paper, things are a lot more hopeful than they were throughout the 2022 season.
And yet, the secondary might still be the strongest part of the Bears’ 2023 defense.
The Bears return two of their three starting cornerbacks from a year ago and are eyeing both of them to take jumps in their own respect. Kyler Gordon, a 2022 second-rounder, has shifted into the slot and grown acclimated to the position over the course of training camp, while Johnson — a three-year starter — has been focused on trying to bring more splash plays and interceptions to his already-solid coverage as a No. 1 corner.
The Bears also have one of the more potent safety combinations in the league between Eddie Jackson and Jaquan Brisker. Jackson was having a Pro Bowl-caliber season in 2022 before a season-ending injury cut his season five games short and could pick up right where he left off with better talent ahead of him in the short field. Meanwhile, Brisker could reach similar levels after finishing with the 10th-most defensive stops (28) among all league safeties in 2022 and earning PFF All-Rookie recognition.
The Bears are still going to need more pressure from their frontlines and better run defense from their linebackers to make marked improvement as a unit in 2023, but if the new additions can elevate the defense, then the deep field should thrive this year.
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