Kyler Gordon Selected 39th Overall by the Chicago Bears

Washington has been the cream of the crop over the past half-decade putting defensive backs into the NFL and they added a 2nd one in the last 24 hours as Kyler Gordon was taken...

Kyler Gordon’s wait is finally over after he was taken 39th overall by the Chicago Bears. This was the expectation coming into the weekend that Gordon would either get taken late round one or early in round two. Corners have been flying off the boards early in the draft so it is not surprising to see Gordon go off the board here.

Gordon should slot right into Chicago’s defense across from Jaylon Johnson. New coach Matt Eberflus was likely salivating to get a player like Kyler Gordon on his defense, hence the trade up to select him. He should have a chance to make an impact early on in his career.

It took Gordon a little longer than expected to rise to the level of an early-round draft pick but he always appeared destined to get there eventually. He was an extremely highly regarded athlete coming out of high school at Archbishop Murray and selected the local Huskies over Notre Dame in a tight recruiting battle. His elite athleticism made him an impact special teams player from day one and helped him appear for 2 consecutive years on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks list.

Gordon started out his sophomore year as a starter on the outside but after a few games lost his starting spot to now 1st round pick Trent McDuffie. Kyler spent the rest of that season as the 6th back in UW’s nickel defense filling in at every corner spot and playing in dime looks. Still, he managed to earn all-conference honorable mention for his work as the gunner on the UW kick and punt teams.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic Washington only played in 4 games in 2020 but he started all of them on the outside to make perhaps the most talented corner trio in the country alongside McDuffie and 3rd round pick last year Elijah Molden. Gordon finished the 4-game season with 15 tackles and 3 pass break-ups.

As a redshirt junior Gordon finally ascended and finished with PFF’s 6th highest season grade of any corner in the country to play at least 500 snaps. Gordon’s game against Cal with McDuffie out injured was one of the most dominant games by a defensive back Washington has seen in some time as he finished with 10 tackles and 2 interceptions in an overtime victory. Gordon was rewarded by making the 1st team all-conference in the Pac-12 after the year.

For a more detailed scouting report on Gordon check out the write-up from our own Ben Glassmire.

Husky Nation will be rooting for you Kyler and hoping you have a long and successful NFL career!