The arrow is pointed up for Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon, who is entering his second season and looking to build off an impressive conclusion to his rookie year.
Gordon has been impressing this offseason, which has earned him a fitting new nickname from his teammates.
“The guys have nicknamed him ‘Spider-Man’ because he is so quick, he is so agile, he is instinctive,” said defensive coordinator Alan Williams. “He’s got Spidey senses. When he makes a play and you go, ‘wow, how did he make that,’ ding-ding-ding the Spidey senses are going off. All those things—the quickness, the instincts—they’ve been showing up in a big way.”
Your friendly, neighborhood Kyler-Man 🕷️ pic.twitter.com/kjUpBiaZqH
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) July 28, 2023
Gordon has been feeling more comfortable and has a better understanding of this defense in Year 2. It also helps that Gordon will play exclusively in the slot rather than balancing two positions like he did his rookie season.
“I do believe that just with everything, less is more,” Williams said. “When you reduce the amount of things that he has to do in terms of technique assignments, they can’t help but get better. I don’t know if you remember last year, but he didn’t get into that [nickel] spot until this time last year. We didn’t rep him there in OTAs. So he’s got all those reps banked from the season underneath his belt on top of a little bit less on his plate in terms of being outside. So I would say, yes, it has helped him on top of one more year in the system.”
