Bears view Jaquan Brisker as 'chess piece' in secondary originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Not many people predicted that the Bears would select a safety with one of their two second round picks on Thursday, but when Jaquan Brisker was available at No. 48, Ryan Poles couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Poles commended Brisker’s on-field ability, and off-field intangibles that make him the exact type of player the team is trying to target as they reshape the organization.
“Really everything that you’ve heard myself and Matt (Eberflus) talk about the last few months, he has that in him,” Poles said.
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Bears scout Chris Prescott went into a bit more depth when describing the traits the team liked when evaluating Brisker.
“You're talking about a big guy that 's physical,” Prescott said. “You know we like his toughness, we like his ball skills. I actually saw him plav vs. Maryland, I think he had a pick in that game and a PBU in that game. A guy that I think has got speed, range, ball skills plus he brings the physical side of the game that we like. Obviously with Flus and his defense, obviously wanting to be a physical team, he also brings that aspect of it too.”
But one of the biggest draws for the Bears is Brisker’s versatility. It’s something that came up with all three of the team’s picks on Friday. Kyler Gordon can play inside or outside corner. The team envisions Velus Jones as a swiss army knife on offense, and an impactful contributor on special teams. And Brisker has the ability to move all over the field at safety. According to PFF, Brisker has taken 668 snaps lined up deep, 690 snaps in the box and 332 snaps in the slot, over the past three seasons.
“He's kind of a good chess piece I guess you would say,” Prescott said. “A lot of moving parts. You can play him close to the line of scrimmage and he can come up and he can play the run. He can fit in there and then he can also revert and flip him back, because he's got enough speed and range and good enough eyes to where you can go locate the ball and play the ball well on the back end.”
By moving Brisker back and forth, defensive coordinator Alan Williams can try to confuse opposing quarterbacks. Deception is key in the NFL, and that ability to move post-snap can keep offenses guessing. But it’s really Brisker’s athletic ability that allows him to succeed no matter where he lines up, since he doesn’t pop up as a mismatch opportunity when he does play in the box.
“Obviously you know you're getting more tight ends (in the box),” Prescott said. “You're getting a guy who can probably go man to man with the tight ends if you want him to… it's not like he's going to get killed in the run game. So I think that's important, that versatility to actually fit in the run game and then obviously give you the versatility to actually cover the tight end.”
Poles described Brisker as a “starting caliber” player, and Prescott added that he believes his skill set will complement Eddie Jackson’s. The Bears probably aren’t going to hand Brisker the starting job just yet, but they’ll get plenty of looks at him lined up next to Jackson this summer.
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