'The Avengers'? How the Chicago Bears' DB room is ready for an identity, and to be one of the NFL's top units

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Jaquan Brisker doesn't know if it'll stick or not.

The now-third-year safety out of Penn State noticed someone gave the Bears' defensive back unit a nickname: The Avengers.

It makes sense. In a way, Nickelback Kyler Gordon started it with his affinity for Spider-Man. Why not continue the theme?

"I kind of saw it on Twitter last year and then it just kind of stuck," Brisker said Sunday. "It might stick with us. I don't know."

Bears head coach Matt Eberflus has been known to give his players nicknames, giving Jaquan Brisker the nickname "Mako Shark" for his speed. But, it's not a bad thing if the secondary feels comfortable taking their own identity.

Whatever the theme might be for the Bears secondary this season, it'll be a theme for a unit that's eying a jump from good to great in 2024. 

After an offseason of excitement, expectations were laid on the Bears before training camp even began. The secondary is setting aside that noise. 

"I'm tired of just having upside and having potential," Bears' All-Pro cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. "I don't want to be in a position where we actually go out there and we are that and not just what we're projected to be. I feel like it's about action at this point."

Nicknames for defensive units aren't uncommon. Chicago should be very familiar with this concept.

There was the Dallas Cowboys' "Doomsday Defense" in the1960s and 1970s, followed by the Pittsburgh Steelers' "Steel Curtain" defense in the 1970s. 

The Bears have their own moniker fans should be very aware of, as the team is often referred to as the "Monsters of the Midway."

The most notorious defensive back room in recent memory was Seattle's "Legion of Boom" which won a Super Bowl behind Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Brandon Browner, Walter Thurmond and Byron Maxwell.

However, self-proclaiming a unit nickname is part one of creating a lasting defense. Part two comes down to backing up that talk with stellar play.

No one remembers the unit with a nickname that finished in the bottom half of the league in a number of statistics.

But the Bears are a group with lofty goals, from the trenches to the secondary. They left off in 2023 as a defense that's in the top half of the league and will most likely start there in 2024 with an eye on the top of the NFL.

"I want to be on point," Brisker said. "I want to be the No. 1 defense, the No. 1 secondary."

The lineup the Bears have in their secondary alludes to that potential.

Brisker and Gordon, two 2022 NFL Draft selections, have found their niche and grown in it. Jaylon Johnson walked the walk after talking his talk, earned All-Pro honors and a large contract to go with it. Tyrique Stevenson, coming off a four-interception rookie season, picked up where he left off by creating turnovers in training camp.

The biggest difference between this unit, and years past, is the departure of safety Eddie Jackson, who recently signed with Baltimore.

Kevin Byard, signed after a split season with Tennessee and Philadelphia, brings experience and leadership. Both were noticed right away, especially by Brisker.

"I want to see what he sees," Brisker said of Byard.

So far, Byard has shown a talented secondary what the next step in their development could look like. Byard wants to show them what it takes to get there, too.

Byard is a regimented player. He has a routine that he sticks to because he wants to feel similar every day. Stacking that routine on top of success is something he wants to show the Bears, specifically the younger members of the secondary.

Much of his routine is simple, like his breakfast – oatmeal with berries, cinnamon and some honey, with a banana sliced six times on the side, no more or less than six slices – and there's a reason for that routine. 

"A lot of that is injury prevention," Byard said Sunday. "Also just being a leader by example."

That leadership is well-received by the Bears secondary. Most of the Bears secondary has lauded Byard and his skills, both on the field and the intangible ones, since he arrived in March.

Byard's leadership skills are also a welcome addition to a defensive back unit that found such a good stride this past season, they didn't need to verbally communicate.

"Kyler and I have a good chemistry and a lot of times we don't have to talk, but I can kind of look at him and kind of nod my head a certain way or I can give him a certain sign without making it too obvious and we can play off receivers," Johnson said Saturday. "A lot of times when you go out there and you're communicating, receivers are listening and looking. So I think just an example of that is being close, being tight, you can get advantages and you can start kind of doing some different things out on the field."

Byard has seen that, especially after working with the rest of the secondary in the offseason programs.

"I see a lot of confidence," Byard said. "We're working to live up to those expectations."

Of all the defensive position groups the Bears have, the secondary is the most likely to become the first elite unit on the team. The receiving corps is already comprised of Pro Bowlers and top-10 draft picks, but the majority of this secondary has been playing with one another since 2022.

That leads to Bears training camp in 2024, where a talent unit is aiming to find its identity to pari with its talent.

Who's who on the Bears' "Avengers" in this case? Brisker said he's the "warrior," which he made up on the spot and is not an official Marvel Avenger.

So, it needs to be ironed out a bit. That's fair.

Whatever identity the Bears' secondary decides to go with, they know they'll need to back it up with their play.

That's been the plan all along.

"Defense wins championships," Brisker said. "We got the talent to do it."

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