Should The Chicago Bears Draft a Cornerback with the Ninth Overall Pick?

Since the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers agreed on a blockbuster trade that gave Chicago the ninth overall pick, many questions have arisen about who they might draft. If the Bears don’t trade down again, it would seem ideal to draft a tackle to beef up the exterior of the offensive line or perhaps a defensive lineman to make up for last season’s pathetic pass rush. However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Bears select a cornerback with their first pick of the draft. Besides Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon, the Chicago Bears’ cornerbacks lack depth. Kindle Vildor took leaps forward last season, but he still isn’t as reliable as fans would like him to be. Luckily for the Bears, there are two amazing cornerback prospects in Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon and Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez.

Devon Witherspoon

Devon Witherspoon, the Illini product himself, rose to stardom as a senior at Illinois. Witherspoon plays on the hips of his receivers very well, allowing only a completion rate of 34.9% in 2022 with 14 pass breakups. Witherspoon’s tackling is also phenomenal, as he is always aware of where to attack the football on pass and run plays. A weakness of Witherspoon is his speed. Witherspoon was targeted many times with pump-fakes, causing him to fall behind his receiver and struggle to catch up. Witherspoon’s transition from his backpedal is also sluggish, which is why he uses his hands so frequently past five yards. However, putting Jaquan Brisker or Eddie Jackson behind Witherspoon in a zone set could make up for his weaknesses, which is why Witherspoon would be a great addition to the Bears’ defense.

Christian Gonzalez

The selling point of Christian Gonzalez is his athleticism. Of all cornerbacks tested, Gonzalez recorded the NFL Combine’s best athleticism score of 92. Gonzalez’s athleticism combined with his fluid footwork keeps him on the toes of his receivers. However, where Gonzalez’s athleticism shines, his football IQ could use some tuning. Gonzalez’s lack of awareness often puts him into situations that cost his team. Gonzalez’s anticipation and angle of pass breakups need some work, but more importantly, Gonzalez needs better approaches to run plays. With proper coaching, Gonzalez could turn into a feared cornerback that would add lots of speed when paired with the Bears’ secondary.

What do you think, Bears fans – should we draft a cornerback with our first pick? There are still a lot of position groups that need help, so Poles has to make a tough decision. But I would love to see either Witherspoon or Gonzalez rocking the orange and navy next season.