As a rookie last season, Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson had his share of “Welcome to the NFL” moments.
Among the 45 cornerbacks who played 500 coverage snaps, Stevenson was tied for last in touchdowns allowed (nine), according to Pro Football Focus. He was 44th in receptions allowed (72), 42nd in yards allowed (836), 22nd in yards per reception allowed (11.6) and 31st in passer rating allowed (100.4).
But those lessons learned put nary a dent in Stevenson’s confidence. On the contrary, his rookie performance — which also included four interceptions, 16 pass break-ups and two forced fumbles — has only increased his confidence and his goals for 2024.
“I’m aiming for All-Pro,” said Stevenson, a second-round draft pick from Miami (Fla.). “More interceptions, more PBUs. Just want to elevate my game all around. And I know I’m capable of it.”
While those numbers don’t lie, Stevenson still finished his rookie season with the arrow pointing up heading into 2024. He never flinched through the tough times, showed flashes of big-play ability — most notably on a diving interception of Joe Flacco at the 1-yard line and 34-yard return against the Browns in Week 15. And he finished strong. Stevenson’s four interceptions and two forced fumbles came in his final six games of the season.
So while he indeed learned some tough lessons last year, the key point is that he learned.
“I definitely agree. It definitely made me better,” Stevenson said. “It was a hard pill to swallow coming from being one of the dominant corners in college, then coming here and giving up passes, giving up deep balls, giving up stuff I normally don’t give up.
“Just looking back on it, I just take those examples and teach myself to be in a better position and use my hands and feet. Look at the quarterback. Read three steps. So [I’m] just taking those and stacking them and learning them and just keep pushing forward.”
Stevenson’s confidence fits in well on a brash Bears secondary that has high hopes for 2024 and isn’t afraid to say it. It’s a talented group of young players to go with veteran safety Kevin Byard — cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson (25), Stevenson (24) and Kyler Gordon (24) and safety Jaquan Brisker (25).
It’s a solid core of second-round draft picks — all of whom were starters in Week 1 of their rookie season — that could be tough to keep together if they reach their goals. Johnson signed a four-year, $76 million contract after being named second-team All-Pro last season (“I should have been first team. Look at the numbers,” he said.) Gordon and Brisker have been good enough in their first two seasons to make Pro Bowl and All-Pro aspirations legitimate.
And together — with 2023 fifth-round cornerback Terrell Smith and 2022 seventh-round safety Elijah Hicks included — they comprise a secondary that thinks even bigger as a unit than it does individually — and that’s saying something.
“We know what we have in our room and we know that we can definitely carry a team,” Johnson said. “There’s no room that’s more confident than our room. There’s not room that’s going to being more energy and juice. There’s no room that’s gong to bring a different element that what we can. That’s going to be something that carries the team, that pushes the team to be really special.
“Every Super Bowl team, they have the secondary. We want to be that Legion of Boom. We want to be that next era of great secondaries that pushes their team to the Super Bowl.”
