New Chicago Bears teammates Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard are playmakers.
Brisker is entering his third NFL season and has already established himself as one of the playmakers on the defense. Byard arrives after stints with the Philadelphia Eagles and Tennessee Titans.
Bears’ Jaquan Brisker Sends Message to Kevin Byard
Jaquan Brisker Responds to Kevin Byard
The Bears? social media team shared a clip from the first training camp practice on X. It showed Brisker and Byard going through a hands drill, and was captioned, ?Ballhawks at work.? Byard shared the post, substituting emojis for words and tagging Brisker.
?Our time is now,? Brisker posted in response.
?? @JaquanBrisker https://t.co/IcXcn4fkKX
— Kevin Byard (@KevinByard) July 20, 2024
Brisker received votes in ESPN?s survey published on July 11 of NFL executives, coaches, and scouts ranking the league?s top 10 safeties. He recorded 105 total tackles to go with nine pass deflections, two forced fumbles, one recovery, 1.0 sacks, and one interception in 2023. He ranks eighth among all secondary players with 209 total tackles since 2022, per Stathead.
Byard did not make that list. But Pro Football Focus? Zoltan Buday ranked Byard the NFL?s 12th-best safety in June. Brisker was not on that list.
Bears? Depth Could Allow for Creativity on Defense
Byard ? a two-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro ? had 122 tackles, three deflections, and one recovery in 2023. He ranks fourth among safeties over the 2022 and 2023 seasons while fellow newcomer and safety Jonathan Owens is tied with Brisker. Byard has also been durable, falling short of a full slate of games for the first time in 2023.
His trade from the Titans to the Eagles gave him a second bye week.
Brisker has missed two games in each of his first two NFL seasons, which could make Owens an under-the-radar key addition.
Owens started 11 of his 17 games for the Green Bay Packers in 2023. Owens had 84 total tackles, three deflections, 1.0 sacks, one forced fumble, and one recovery. He started all 17 games for the Houston Texans in 2022 and could allow the Bears to experiment with three safety looks.
Secondary Poised to Lead Bears Defense in 2023
The Bears have Montez Sweat and potential budding star Gervon Dexter Sr. up front. They also have T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds at linebacker. Edmunds ranked seventh in ESPN?s survey of his position. That survey also listed Edwards as an ?honorable mention.?
There was a note from ESPN?s Jeremy Fowler on Edmunds? entry that ?multiple voters? felt Edwards had a better season in 2023.
Still, the secondary has the talent and sheer volume that the other two levels of the defense simply do not.
The group?s significance to the defense?s success was clear in 2023 as they struggled amid myriad injuries on the backend. They will all need to work together as a veteran-laden offense breaks in a rookie quarterback in No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams.