Draft Data: Bears CB Tyrique Stevenson’s analytical profile
The Bears filled the final opening in their starting secondary through the 2023 NFL Draft, drafting Miami (FL) cornerback Tyrique Stevenson with the No. 56 pick.
Stevenson will presumably join Jaylon Johnson as the two starting outside cornerbacks on Chicago’s roster, with second-year Kyler Gordon sliding into the nickel. One of the top performers at the Senior Bowl and an ideal fit with what the Bears want out of their defensive backs, Stevenson projects as a Day 1 starter with the ability to put together a solid rookie season in 2023.
Film studies galore have already been done on some of the Bears’ rookies, both by me and many other content creators in this online Chicago football-sphere. However, with the increasing presence data is playing in how NFL teams select players, I figured I’d take a look at what some of the advanced analytics say about both Stevenson and the rest of the Bears’ 2023 draft class.
Relative Athletic Score
In addition to having arm length in the 81st percentile and hand size in the 83rd percentile for the cornerback position, Stevenson was one of the better performers from an athletic perspective at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine.
Stevenson’s Relative Athletic Score placed 13th among the 38 corners invited to the Combine, and his 8.93 score correlates to an 89th-percentile athleticism profile. It was a loaded group of elite athletes at the cornerback position in the 2023 draft, and he was certainly able to remain closer to the head of the pack.
Advanced analytics
Stevenson was the eighth cornerback selected in the 2023 draft, and from a statistical perspective — per SIS DataHub — he’s right in the mix with some of the cornerbacks who were selected ahead of him.
When comparing Stevenson to the top 10 cornerbacks taken in this year’s class, he had the third-best completion percentage allowed at just 35.3%, along with the fourth-best passer rating against at just 44.9.
2023 NFL Draft Top 10 CBs Coverage Season Player Team NFL Team Cov. Snaps Yards Per Cover Snap Tgts Comp% Deserved Catch % Y/A Y/G Rating Against Season Player Team NFL Team Cov. Snaps Yards Per Cover Snap Tgts Comp% Deserved Catch % Y/A Y/G Rating Against 2022 Devon Witherspoon Illinois Seahawks 412 0.4 56 30.40% 61.80% 3.3 15 3.9 2022 DJ Turner Michigan Colts 457 0.8 64 37.50% 64.10% 5.7 26 54.6 2022 Deonte Banks Maryland Patriots 368 0.6 53 37.70% 61.10% 4.5 20 63.3 2022 Emmanuel Forbes Mississippi State Giants 409 0.5 43 39.50% 70.00% 4.8 17 30.9 2022 Julius Brents Kansas State Commanders 432 0.8 41 41.50% 80.00% 8.7 26 57.8 2022 Christian Gonzalez Oregon Bengals 418 0.6 42 47.60% 66.70% 5.9 21 62.3 2022 Joey Porter Jr. Penn State Steelers 261 0.4 29 41.40% 54.50% 3.7 11 52.1 2022 Cam Smith South Carolina Dolphins 283 0.6 38 34.20% 62.50% 4.1 14 32.5 2022 Tyrique Stevenson Miami (FL) Bears 287 0.9 34 35.30% 57.10% 8 25 44.9 2022 Garrett Williams Syracuse Cardinals 161 1.2 22 54.50% 77.80% 9 28 81.4
Stevenson finished with the second-best “boom” percentage of the top-10 cornerbacks at 31.8%, and his positive play percentage of 35.5% was the fifth-best of the bunch. The latter of which was better than first-round picks Devon Witherspoon and Deonte Banks, while the former exceeded all corners in the group outside of Garrett Williams, who had the smallest sample size of the bunch.
However, Stevenson’s “bust” percentage of 41.2% was by far the highest of the bunch. This played into a negative effect on his EPA, as his Points Saved per play and Points Above Average per play were both the last of the bunch.
2023 NFL Draft Top 10 CBs Data Season Player Team NFL Team Cov. Snaps Tgts Points Saved PS Per Play Points Above Avg PAA Per Play EPA EPA/Tgt Positive% Boom% Bust% Season Player Team NFL Team Cov. Snaps Tgts Points Saved PS Per Play Points Above Avg PAA Per Play EPA EPA/Tgt Positive% Boom% Bust% 2022 Devon Witherspoon Illinois Seahawks 412 56 59.87 0.15 42.75 0.107 -46.5 -0.83 19.60% 7.10% 26.80% 2022 Julius Brents Kansas State Colts 432 41 50.4 0.118 32.99 0.077 -13.2 -0.323 36.60% 14.60% 26.80% 2022 Christian Gonzalez Oregon Patriots 418 42 46.02 0.111 29.32 0.071 -5.93 -0.141 45.20% 26.20% 21.40% 2022 Deonte Banks Maryland Giants 368 53 37.54 0.105 24.22 0.068 -15.1 -0.284 34.00% 13.20% 20.80% 2022 Emmanuel Forbes Mississippi State Commanders 409 43 42.2 0.104 26.14 0.065 -28.9 -0.672 37.20% 18.60% 23.30% 2022 DJ Turner Michigan Bengals 457 64 32.89 0.073 13.45 0.03 -12.5 -0.195 29.70% 14.10% 21.90% 2022 Joey Porter Jr. Penn State Steelers 261 29 16.08 0.063 6.28 0.025 -3.24 -0.112 31.00% 17.20% 10.50% 2022 Cam Smith South Carolina Dolphins 283 38 20.47 0.076 10.47 0.039 -15.7 -0.412 28.90% 13.20% 26.30% 2022 Tyrique Stevenson Miami (FL) Bears 287 34 9.89 0.035 -1.54 -0.005 -8.93 -0.263 35.30% 26.50% 41.20% 2022 Garrett Williams Syracuse Cardinals 161 22 11.53 0.072 4.98 0.031 1.89 0.086 45.50% 31.80% 18.20%
It’s worth noting from the first data set that, although Stevenson’s completion percentage is one of the lowest, his 8 yards allowed per attempt are the highest of the bunch. This speaks to occasional concerns giving up big plays, even if his overall play is more consistent than many other cornerbacks in this class.
Stevenson will have to prove that he can avoid giving up those chunk plays that give him a more inefficient analytical profile. That said, he’s a rock-solid corner who does his job very well on positive plays, which come more often than most other top cornerback prospects.
Source: Windy City Gridiron
