Tyrique Stevenson has been playing his best ball of late♚. And the Chicago Bears cornerback was for his efforts against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 17.
Five tackles (4 solo), two interceptions, four passes defended, and one major award. Now, that is how you ring in the new year:
The rookie second-round pick from the University of Miami (the one in Florida, 🍸not Ohio) has been a baller of late. Winning this award is a cherry on top of what has been an i꧒mpressive rookie season.
Tyrique Stevenson is a player on the rise
Maybe this is just me, but it felt like it was only a matter of time before Tyrique Stevenson was bringing home some hardware. And even though he wasn’t up for the NFL’s Rookie of the Week award, Stevenson’s performance was good enough to win the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Week award. So, take that, other rookies!
I’ve been looking forward to writing this post for quite some time. After all, we’ve been envisioning Tyrique Stevenson as a playmaker in the Chicago Bears secondary since he was drafted. I still think aboღut this excerpt I wrote on draft weekend:
One of the most refreshing things abou🍎t the coaching change from one Matt (Nagy) to the other (Eberflus) has been Eberflus’ willingness to play young players. Because while Nagy was basically scoffing at the idea of giving young players some burn at the expense of vets, Eberflus didn’t seem to have an issue with a trial-by-fire approach. There were growing pains, to be sure. Most notably with cornerback Kyler Gordon. But by year’s end, Gordon’s arrow was pointing up. Perhaps history will repeat itself with Stevenson. And it could happen as quickly for Stevenson as it did for Gordon.
And when it was evident that things were lining up for him to start as a rookie, the anticipation for Stevenson to play to his potential began to grow. The playbook was there for the Bearsꦬ to follow. Not only did they do it, Tyrique Stevenson put in the hard work to make it happen.
MORE: These Tyrique Stevenson Highlights Have ꩵMe Excited Aboဣut the Chicago Bears Defense
It isn’t as if Stevenson’s award-winning performance came out of nowhere. In fact, it feels like we’ve been building to this moment all year long. Stevenson, like all rookie cornerbacks who enter the league, had some battles to fight and hills to climb to reach this point. Opposing quarterbacks picked on him early and often. Stevenson was flagged a bunch early in his career. Some penalties were spot on, but others were examples of vets getting one over on a rookie. But instead of turtling, Stevenson continued to play his game. And the results have been wonderful too see.
All five of Stevenson’s interceptions have come in the last five games. The Bears are 3-2 in those contests. And as a unit, the Bears’ secondary has been pretty strong — with Stevenson being a key cog in the mix.
Credit Bears GM Ryan Poles and his staff for the scouting job. And kudos to Head Coach Matt Eberflus for doing for Stevenson what he did with Gordon. Now, for the second straight year, the Bears have a second-round rookie cornerback who is hitting his stride at the end of his first season. We’ve witnessed Kyler Gordon parlay his growth in the second half of his rookie season into solidifying his spot as a starter in this secondary. And Tyrique Stevenson appears to be following those footsteps.
We’ll be watching Stevenson’s career with great interest as his development continues.
