Vildor moves to starter from understudy

[soulman]

BEARS
Vildor moves to starter from understudy

Cornerback replacing Fuller, his film partner — and Pro Bowler

By Brad Biggs Chicago Tribune

During Cory Peoples’ one season as defensive backs coach at Georgia Southern, he had the hardest time completing his film breakdowns of the upcoming opponent every Monday.

His problem? Kindle Vildor was in his office first thing Monday morning wondering one thing: How can I get better?

That was 2018, Vildor’s junior season, when he emerged as an All-Sun Belt Conference selection, putting him on the map as an NFL prospect. He earned a Senior Bowl invitation after his senior season, and the Chicago Bears called his name in the fifth round a year ago.

Vildor’s rise to the starting lineup at the start of his second season comes as no surprise to those who know him. It’s one of a couple of surprises for those outside the Bears organization, though, tracing back to the decision in March to terminate veteran cornerback Kyle Fuller’s contract.

The Bears made it clear they believed Vildor could step into the role. When his primary competition for the job was veteran Desmond Trufant, signed to a one-year contract for the minimum, it was even more apparent the job was Vildor’s to lose.

At first glance, Vildor is a slender (he’s listed at 5-foot-11, 190 pounds) and clearly inexperienced replacement for Fuller, but everything isn’t always as it appears. While Vildor possesses a thin frame, at the 2020 scouting combine he put up 22 reps on the bench press at 225 pounds, tied for the most at his position.

Even more impressive, he has 32 1/4-inch arms, the fourth-longest of any cornerback in his draft class and nearly an inch longer than the starter opposite him, Jaylon Johnson. Vildor wasn’t some short-armed defensive back throwing up a big bench-press number in Indianapolis. This was the work of someone with the arms of an average 6-2 man.

“A lot of people can’t tell how strong I am,” Vildor said, sounding eager to show what he can do in press man coverage Sunday night against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Bears liked how Vildor measured up as a senior in a game against eventual national champion LSU, and when they put him on the field late last season, the moment wasn’t too big for him.

“The Minnesota (Vikings) game, first one up, everybody knows that’s the new guy, and he did an excellent job going against two of the top receivers in the NFL,” Bears defensive backs coach Deshea Townsend said. “Hold your own and compete. You didn’t call his name out much, and that’s always great at corner when you’re the new guy coming in and everybody knows it.

“It’s up to him to build upon the foundation he started last year when he got that opportunity.”

The Bears took a calculated gamble when they released Fuller, a two-time Pro Bowl selection and an All-Pro in 2018, for salary-cap reasons. They could have made other tough choices if they wanted to keep the former first-round pick.

General manager Ryan Pace has had a knack for hitting on fifth-round picks, and the Bears could benefit by having a younger — and cheaper — player step in and develop quickly, especially with Vildor’s draft classmate, Johnson, as the other starter.

“It was a surprise to me when they cut Kyle,” Vildor said. “It caught everyone off guard. I was back home in Atlanta just chilling and I was on my phone and ended up seeing it, and everyone was sending it to me. It was a normal day and it just popped up.”

Vildor knew one thing: Fuller’s exit would open a door for someone. He already had been grinding daily with his Atlanta-based trainer, Oliver Davis, working with players such as Jaycee Horn and A.J. Bouye and trying to soak up a little something from each of them.

Shortly after returning home, he met with Peoples, now the cornerbacks coach at Georgia State, to watch film of the Bears’ playoff loss in New Orleans that Vildor started.

“I don’t care what is going on, Kindle always sends me a video or something,” Peoples said. “The release of a wide receiver — how do we play this? How should we play that? To this day, I can go check my Twitter or my text message, and he’s asking me: ‘What do you think about this? How would you play that?’ He is one of those guys you would call a junkie. He’s always striving to get better.

“Just last week he sent me a video of Amari Cooper running a route and we were talking about the route, what techniques can you use to defend it. That’s why I could never get my breakdowns down on Monday mornings because he was in my office asking those types of questions. He’s that type of guy when it comes to preparing.”

Vildor found a willing mentor in Fuller late last season. Fuller is naturally quiet but was always willing to help out teammates.

“I’m right here. Let’s kick it and watch this,” Fuller texted Vildor after the team meeting in Minnesota the night before the Week 15 game against the Vikings — the first game Johnson missed with a shoulder injury.

In an instant Vildor was knocking on Fuller’s door to discover what tips the veteran had for him. It’s something they did before each game the rest of the season.

“He was really good at breaking down the film,” Vildor said. “He really taught me what things to watch for. He’s been doing it a long time, and that really helped benefit me that last stretch of the season.”

It will be interesting to see how defensive coordinator Sean Desai elects to use Vildor. Fuller played off-man coverage a lot, and Vildor, like most young cornerbacks, feels most comfortable in press coverage, where he can put his long arms and strength to use before the wide receiver gets into his route.

That’s a clear sacrifice the organization made in moving on from Fuller, but watching how the team has handled the position since March, there were reasons behind the move.

“After the last game, Chuck (Pagano, the former defensive coordinator) was here and they were saying, ‘You did a really good job,’ “ Vildor said. “Deshea was saying the same thing, so I knew they had trust in me and they believed in me. That’s what it is all about. If you don’t have it at cornerback — confidence — it’s over. It’s going to be a short career.

“I want to be one of the guys they can count on. It is a huge opportunity. It’s right here, early on. I know I am up for the challenge. I have put in the work.”

[dll2000]

I hope he does better in games than he did in preseason.

 

[Bfan]

Vidor is one of the biggest question marks on this defense. It will be good to put all the coach speak and fan angst aside and see what he can do on the field Sunday.