Bears outside linebacker Khalil Mack is one of the baddest men on the planet. Akiem Hicks is a top-five interior defensive lineman, and Eddie Jackson a top-three safety.
But no one sets the tone of the Bears’ defense like cornerback Kyle Fuller, who is proving to one of the most violent hitters, pound-for-pound, in the NFL.
“I’ve never seen a corner with that type of mindset,” safety Tashaun Gipson, a nine-year veteran, said Friday. “It’s refreshing to know that, one, your corner’s not scared to tackle, but your corner’s laying boomsticks, hitsticks on people.”
He does it with all the emotion of a shark.
“He’ll knock a guy out and just walk off … ” Gipson said. “I’ve never seen a dude lay boomhits and he doesn’t have any reaction after that. It’s kind of like, ‘It’s normal.’”
Some cornerbacks, defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano said, “make business decisions when it comes to tackling.” Others, he said play, “Cat Coverage — I’ve got that cat and you guys handle the rest of the stuff.” Fuller does neither.
“You’ve got to be a roughrider,” Pagano said. “He’s a roughrider.”
Fuller will never say so himself. Since the start of summer camp, Fuller has granted one interview — a 330-word, four-minute group Zoom call last month in which he seemingly tried to melt into the floor to escape questioning.
“The more you’re around Kyle, you just realize that his personality, he’s always at a 2,” Gipson said. “His intensity might never get past a 4. A 4 is pushing it, man. But the man can flat-out ball. And when you’re talking about physical cornerbacks, he’s never shied away from contact.”
It would be cliché to say Fuller’s play does the talking for him, but Fuller is chattier on the field than he is off it. As the defense’s de facto captain, he has long conversations with officials between plays — particularly when a call’s gone against him.
In the second quarter Sunday, Fuller lowered his shoulder to hit Panthers receiver Keith Kirkwood and force an incompletion at the 27-yard line. He was flagged for unnecessary roughness, even though replay showed shoulder-to-shoulder contact. Fuller got a similar penalty in Week 1 — and a fine — for hitting the Lions’ T.J. Hockenson.
He thought he was the victim of another flag in Week 5, when he lowered his shoulder into Buccaneers running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn’s chest after he caught a pass, forcing a game-changing fumble recovered by Robert Quinn. After officials huddled, they picked up the flag.
That probably should have happened Sunday, on the latest of Fuller’s soul-crushing hits.
“They’re textbook when you slow them down,” Pagano said. “I think it’s impossible to officiate.”
His next opponent knows what’s coming.
“He’s made a lot of plays where teams are running these crossing routes, and he’s able to kind of get the perfect target and really blow those things up …” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “He’s a complete player. … You can see this guy studies, understands exactly what to expect. Has great short space quickness, great ball skills. There’s nothing he can’t do.”
The Bears picked Fuller No. 14 overall in 2014, one spot behind the player they coveted, Rams star defensive tackle Aaron Donald. He seemed headed toward a career like that of another Rams player, outside linebacker Leonard Floyd,— a first-rounder the Bears cast off after four disappointing seasons.
Three underwhelming years led the Bears to decline Fuller’s fifth-year option. Fuller, though, pulled out of his tailspin in time, starring in 2017. The Bears gave him the transition tag the following March, matching a lucrative offer made by the rival Packers.
The cornerback has only gotten better since getting a big second contract — a rarity in the NFL. In 2018, he tied for the NFL lead with seven interceptions. This year, he’s stating his case as the NFL’s most dangerous cornerback.
Pagano just as impressed by what Fuller did five plays after his big hit Sunday. He toppled down Teddy Bridgewater on a second-and-goal zone-read in which the cornerback was the only player that stood between the quarterback and the end zone. The Panthers eventually settled for a field goal.
The play reminded Pagano of Thanksgiving last year, when Fuller tripped up Lions running back J.D. McKissic on third-and-one from the 4 in a tied game. The Lions kicked a field goal, the Bears scored a touchdown and left Detroit 24-20 winners.
“That was a game-changer,” Pagano said. “Who knows what if you don’t make that?”
The Bears will never find out.
“You are what you put on film ... ” rookie cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. “I feel like that’s what he’s been putting out there — that he’s going to hit you. People definitely think twice coming across the middle or coming across on his side when they can’t necessarily see him. It definitely puts a little thought into their mind.”
