Chicago Bears safety Jaquan Brisker Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports

Bears DB Jaquan Brisker named one of NFL's top safeties through first three games

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 10/1/22

While the Chicago Bears offense may be in peril, the defense has been largely responsible for the team’s 2-1 start.

The Bears have the No. 9-ranked passing defense (201 yards per game allowed) and No. 11-ranked scoring defense (19 points per game allowed) in the NFL, and their secondary is to thank for a lot of their success, more specifically rookie safety Jaquan Brisker.

Heading into Week 4, the NFL Next Gen Stats team released its positional power rankings among safeties and Brisker cracked the list at No. 9.

No. 9 in the league in year one, #PennState alum @JaquanBrisker pic.twitter.com/3f9r3rbsVc
— PennState.Rivals.com (@PennStateRivals) September 30, 2022

“Only 30 percent of targets with Brisker as the nearest defender have been completed this season, the lowest rate among any player at any position with 10-plus targets,” Next Gen Stats said. “And even when the ball does get completed, Brisker's sure tackling helps limit the big plays, as his 1.9 yards/target allowed as the nearest defender is tied for first (with Chargers CB Bryce Callahan) among all players with 10-plus targets.

“Brisker has played all over the field (51.3 percent of snaps aligned as deep safety, 13.8 percent as slot CB, 15.3 percent as off-ball LB), and he has been the definition of "instant impact" for one of the league's most surprising teams thus far.”

Just a rookie, Brisker’s 71.0 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus is the second-best on the Bears of any player with 20 or more coverage snaps.

The 2022 second-round pick has allowed six completions on nine targets in coverage for just 37 yards, and his 6.2 yards per reception allowed is second-best behind only Eddie Jackson. Quarterbacks also have just a 40.2 passer rating when targeting Brisker.

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