After an impressive rookie season in 2022 followed by moderate progress in Year 2, Bears safety Jaquan Brisker feels his time is now.
“The Bears haven’t gotten the best version of me yet. I feel like it’s going to happen this year,” Brisker said Thursday after the Bears concluded their veteran mini-camp at Halas Hall. “Just having me move from left and right [at safety], but having both of us [with veteran Kevin Byard], we get the best of both worlds, which is good.
“It’s going to show a lot of what I can do in the back end at free safety — my range. You guys see it out [at practice] but you’re going to see it more this year — my range, how I can make more plays on the ball. [Inside] the box, that’s the easy part.”
While draft picks such as quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze and free agents such as running back D’Andre Swift, Byard and tight end Gerald Everett have upgraded the Bears’ roster, Brisker represents the third part of that equation — growth from within.
That’s a group that includes cornerbacks Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson, defensive tackles Gervon Dexter, left tackle Braxton Jones and right tackle Darnell Wright among players who were significant contributors last season.
A second-round draft pick from Penn State in 2022, the 25-year-old Brisker is in position to take a bigger jump in Year 3 — a third-year starter in Matt Eberflus’ defense, surrounded by nine teammates who have at least one year of experience in Eberflus’ defense.
Brisker has been looking to expand his safety role since the end of his rookie season. With he and Byard virtually interchangeable, he expects to get that chance this season.
“My next step is showing what I can do and that in the front end and the back end,” Brisker said. “Creating turnovers, more forced fumbles. I’ve showed what I can do in the box. Now it’s time for me to show what I can do playing free safety also. Just putting it all together and having the best version of me.”
Brisker notably did not forget one factor he doesn’t necessarily control — staying healthy. He’s missed two games in each of his first two seasons, but also has been banged up in several games.
“That’s a big thing for me. Just being healthy,” Brisker said. “Once I’m healthy, everything else is going to be easy.”
After playing his first two seasons with Eddie Jackson, Brisker is adjusting to a new teammate in veteran Kevin Byard. But already, it looks like Byard’s own versatility is enhancing Brisker’s play.
“KB has a lot of veteran football IQ that he’s brought to the team,” Brisker said. “He’s very vocal. It’s been good.”
As one of the most vocal players on the defense and a player who assumed a leadership role early in his career, Brisker is as bullish as anyone about the defense’s opportunity to take a big step after a strong finish in 2023, when the Bears led the NFL in fewest points allowed over the last nine weeks of the season.
This could be the Bears’ best defense since 2018, when Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Roquan Smith and company were No. 1 in the NFL in points allowed and takeaways (36) and in the top 10 in every major statistical category kept by the league.
The goal? “Really just being No. 1 [in the NFL],” Brisker said. “Top five in a lot of categories, especially the pass and the run. Getting turnovers is very important to us.”
“Just having a complete defense. You look at the great defenses — the Baltimore Ravens, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Chicago Bears. You can name so many defenses and their success has been creating turnovers, playing together and being top five in all those statistics.”
