5 breakout stars to watch for Chicago Bears in 2020
3. CB Kevin Toliver
The Bears seem sure to take a corner with one of their two second-round picks, but to this point they’ve only replaced Prince Amukamara with failed former Steelers’ first-round pick Artie Burns. Over his three seasons in Chicago, Amukamara was tied for 21st among cornerbacks in Pro Football Reference’s approximate value metric. No. 1 corner Kyle Fuller was fourth in that metric over the same span, so the Bears have had a pretty good cornerback duo.
Toliver, a 2018 undrafted free agent out of LSU, has played in 27 games with two starts over his two seasons. He has played only 13 and 16 percent of Chicago’s defensive snaps respectively in those seasons. In that small sample he has allowed 23 receptions on 34 targets (67.6 success rate), while allowing 8.5 yards per target and 12.6 yards per catch.
But Toliver did do quite well in one notable individual matchup last year.
Kevin Toliver defends a back shoulder fade against A-rod and Devante Adams by keeping contact on the FRONT shoulder before getting his head around and literally using his head. pic.twitter.com/b48PTzrriZ
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) March 21, 2020
Even if the Bears draft a corner with one of their early picks, Toliver should play a good bit more during the upcoming season. So the potential he has flashed could turn into becoming a notable factor in the back end of a good defense, and a breakout would come naturally then.