Chicago Bears 2022 player preview: Tavon Young

	Game	Game	Def	Def		Tack	Tack	Tack	Tack	Tack
Year	G	GS	Int	PD	Sk	Comb	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits
2021	17	7	1	3	2.0	35	30	5	4	3

Advanced Stat to Know: Young missed a career-low 12.8 percent of his tackle attempts according to PFR.

Best Game of 2021

Young’s best game wasn’t the one where he had an interception or any of the two games where he notched a sack.

It came Week 10 on the road against the Miami Dolphins. He was targeted six times, and only surrendered two receptions for a total of six yards. Young also came up big in the red zone against former Bear Adam Shaheen — who has a near one-foot advantage on Young.

#Bears cornerback Tavon Young is listed at 5-foot-9, 185 pounds. Despite lining up against 6-foot-7, 257-pound Dolphins tight end Adam Shaheen (who Bears fans know all to well), Young keeps his balance in the end zone and forces an incomplete pass before the half expires. pic.twitter.com/o1aCNoWTLH

— Nicholas Moreano (@NicholasMoreano) April 10, 2022

The interesting part about this game for Young is the fact that he lined up outside instead of the slot, proving he can be a versatile piece in the secondary.

Biggest Question

Will Young remain healthy enough to make an impact in Chicago?

Since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2016 draft, Young has missed roughly three seasons worth of games. He has torn his left ACL twice, which caused him to miss the entire 2017 season and 15 games in 2020. A neck injury kept him out of the 2019 season.

Young is a proven talent when available. The Ravens would not have made him the highest-paid nickel corner in the NFL in February of 2019 if they didn’t believe that.

There’s little doubt that Young can be a big-time playmaker in Chicago with a surrounding cast that includes Jaylon Johnson, Eddie Jackson and rookies Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker.

The only serious question surrounds Young’s availability and durability throughout a full NFL season.

2022 Outlook

Young is in the driver’s seat. If he remains healthy and plays at the level he’s demonstrated in the past, he should easily win the starting slot corner spot. He’s a much better player than Duke Shelley.

If he suffers from the injury bug — and has to be put on the shelf — well, that puts him out of contention just due to lack of availability.

If healthy, Young will start for the Bears.

Prediction: Starting Slot Cornerback

Stats: 15 Games, 2 INTs, 65 CMP%, 2 Sacks, 5 TFL