The Chicago Bears appear to have found a promising young player in cornerback and rookie fourth-round draft pick Malik Muhammad.
His coaches have seen it from the former Texas Longhorns standout from the outset. Asked directly what he has liked about what he has seen from Muhammad so far, Bears cornerbacks coach and defensive pass game coordinator Al Harris said, “Everything, man.”
“He’s been great since Day 1. He takes coaching. He retains the information. And if he doesn’t understand, he asks the right questions,” Harris told Clocker Sports this week, later saying the rookie handled his move from inside at the nickelback spot to the perimeter in Week 3 amid Tyrique Stevens’ injury in “great” fashion.
That is “how it should be,” Harris said.
“You can’t have just a ‘I can only do this’ mentality. So, if I’m doing it here or if I’m doing it here, you’ve got to be able to do that.”
Bears nickelbacks coach Cannon Matthews talked about their cornerbacks needing
Muhammad has 1 interception and 1.0 sack to go with 11 total tackles and 2 pass deflections. He has started one of the Bears’ three games this season but has logged the sixth-most snaps on the defense, per Pro Football Reference
Muhammad, 22, tipped his cap to his coaches along the way for helping him prepare.
Bears’ Malik Muhammad Talks Confidence, Making Plays & Al Harris
Bears Have Strong Combination in Al Harris & Malik Muhammad
Bears CB Malik Muhammad had high praise for his coaches.
That preparation, as he previously told Clocker Sports, is why Muhammad plays with the confidence he does and, thus, makes the plays he has.
“It start with the coaches,” Muhammad told Clocker Sports after a practice this week. “I got really good coaches. Really good, understanding coaches who put me in the right positions. They asked me what I like, what I don’t like. And then, just me being a football player, me using my instincts, me playing within the defense, and then just making plays.”
Muhammad said his “confidence has risen a lot,” and he was not short on it entering the NFL. Asked specifically about Harris’ impact–not just on him, but the entire DB room when it comes to making plays–Muhammad smiled when discussing Harris’ direct approach.
“Al just tell us, ‘Man, just be you. At the end of the day, play with the utmost amount of confidence,’” Muhammad told Clocker Sports, noting Harris “harps on other things.”
Harris does not stray too far from the bottom line, though.
“Once he get done harping on those things,” Muhammad told Clocker Sports about what makes Harris’ message translate so well, “He say, ‘Fellas, at the end of the day, we gonna take the ball away.’”
The Bears are fortunate to have retained Harris this past offseason, and it appears the landing Muhammad is proving to be a boon as well.
