© 2024 ALLCITY Network Inc.
All rights reserved.
Become a smarter Chicago sports fan with the latest game recaps, analysis and exclusive content from CHGO’s writers and podcasters!
Just drop your email below!
This is CHGO’s Chicago Bears 2022 player preview series. Learn more about each player and what to expect from them this year.
Safety Jaquan Brisker is aiming to make an immediate impact in Chicago after the Bears drafted him 48th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. After all, he is the self-proclaimed “steal of the draft.”
| Tack | Tack | Tack | Tack | Def | Def | Def | Def | Fumb | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | G | Solo | Ast | Tot | Loss | Int | Yds | Avg | PD | FR |
| *2021 | 12 | 38 | 25 | 63 | 6.0 | 2 | 39 | 19.5 | 5 | 1 |
To identify Brisker’s best game, you have to look past the box score and search for context. The safety’s standout performance came in the first game of the season when Penn State traveled to Wisconsin to take on the Badgers.
He only finished with four tackles, which was less than half of the nine he put up against Iowa later in the season. However, Brisker had a clutch moment late in the game to seal the victory for his team.
With a little over two minutes remaining, the Badgers had the ball deep in Penn State territory. The Nittany Lions were up 16-9 as Wisconsin faced fourth-and-goal.
Brisker identified where the quarterback wanted to go with the ball, jumped the route and came away with the game-sealing interception.
It’s clutch moments like these that the Bears hope translate to the next level.
Will Jaquan Brisker back up his proclamation?
Typically, you don’t set a high standard for a rookie drafted in the second round. You may expect him to be a solid contributor out of the gate, but you don’t set the bar too high from the jump.
But it’s hard to do that when that player tells the head coach (and the world) that Chicago got the steal of the draft.
That’s a bold statement and one he must back up.
Brisker certainly has done a good job at looking the part so far as he was a standout throughout the Bears’ offseason program, making multiple plays on the ball.
His coaches have talked him up since being drafted. Brisker has a strong combination of physical tools, work ethic, game smarts and instincts to be a difference-maker in this defense right away.
Brisker provides the Bears with a physical tone-setting presence. Expect to see the rookie lay down the boomstick. In college, Brisker’s teammates saw a player that was never satisfied and that was always looking to improve his game — even if that meant putting in extra work.
It’s that mentality that allowed Brisker to successfully make the transition from JUCO to the Big 10 and why he should be successful in making the jump to the pros.
He fits exactly what the Bears are looking for with their emphasis on generating takeaways. It’s a mentality Brisker has instilled in himself. He’s always looking to make a big play.
Time will tell if he will truly be the “steal of the draft,” but at the very least, Brisker is poised to become a solid player for the Bears.
Brisker is a Day 1 starter. There’s not much doubt surrounding this notion. It’s just a matter of determining what reasonable expectations are for the safety during his rookie season.
There’s hope he can make his presence felt all season long and continue to be around the ball just as he was throughout OTAs.
Prediction: Starting strong safety.
Stats: 50 TKLS, 2 INTs, 5 PBUs, 1 FF, 1 FR.
Become a smarter Chicago sports fan with the latest game recaps, analysis and exclusive content from CHGO’s writers and podcasters!
Just drop your email below!
