DBs More than Keeping Pace

With Kalon Barnes running a 4.23-second 40 and Tariq Woolen a 4.26, there was even more speed among defensive backfield members than with wide receivers at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine.

Kalon Barnes of Baylor has at least one quality Bears coach Matt Eberflus says makes for a good cornerback in the eyes of his defense.

"You have to have speed at that position," Eberflus said as the NFL scouting combine began. "Because you have to have makeup speed. You're going to be out of position sometimes. The receivers are some of the best guys on the field. So really I'd say those three things."

Barnes almost had more speed on Sunday than anyone in combine history. Only the 4.22-second effort of John Ross in 2017 has been faster than the 40-yard time posted by Barnes, who ran 4.23.

Barnes is not considered among the best cornerbacks in this draft and at 5-foot-11 1/2, 183 pounds, he is regarded by FanNation's NFL Draft Bible as an inside or slot cornerback rather than one who plays outside where the faster wide receivers generally can be found.

The Bears would be interested in help at either inside or outside when it comes to cornerback.

Another cornerback who does play on the outside displayed speed nearly as good as Barnes.

Texas-San Antonio cornerback Tariq Woolen ran a 4.26-second 40, which is tied for the fourth-fastest time with former Steelers running back Dri Archer and former Texans receiver Jerome Mathis. The only ones running faster than Woolen were Barnes, Ross and former Titans running back Chris Johnson (4.24, 2008).

Woolen used to be a wide receiver but switched.

"Oh yeah, it was a hard choice," he said "I played offense my whole life so my former coach (Frank Wilson), he's at LSU right now, he came to UTSA. He recruited me as a receiver throughout the whole process.

"But toward the end of the 2019 season he came to me. He was like 'hey would like to play cornerback?" I told him no at first, 'I'm an offensive guy.' I never played a lick of defense in my life. When he told me that I was like, "nah, no, no." And he basically told me it would help the team and when I thought about it that way I said 'OK.' "

It was hardly settled in Woolen's mind, though.

"But we would go to practice at first and I would stay with the wide receivers and he was like 'no, go to the cornerbacks,' " Woolen said. "I would go to receiver drills and he would be 'no, go back to corners.' 

"I practice for like two weeks, then the last week of that season I played at corner. Then his time at UTSA came to an end and our new coach gave me a choice to play at wide receiver or corner and I chose cornerback."

The Bears are going to be a zone-heavy team on defense now.

"I feel like I fit in both (zone or man)," Woolen said. "I'm a big press-man corner, but when it comes to zone, I can play with my eyes on the ball, I want to be a versatile player."

Woolen is the sixth-best cornerback on Mel Kiper's cornerback board, inside or outside. So it's possible the Bears could have their choice of either of the cornerback burners if they wanted.

The NFL Draft Bible has Woolen ranked just 14th among outside cornerbacks.

If it isn't those two cornerbacks, there was plenty of speed elsewhere at the combine.

In all, 16 cornerbacks or safeties ran times below 4.4 seconds, the most in the two decades that they've been keeping close track of such records.

2022 NFL Combine's Fastest DBs

*Safety

1. Kalon Barnes, Baylor, 4.23

2. Tariq Woolen, UTSA, 4.26

3. Zyon McCollum, Sam Houston, 4.33

4. Nick Cross*, Maryland, 4.34

5. Alontae Taylor, Tennessee, 4.36

5. Percy Butler*, Louisiana, 4.36

5. J.T. Woods*, Baylor, 4.36

5. Tycen Anderson*, Toledo, 4.36

9. Lewis Cine*, Georgia, 4.37

10. Cobie Durant, S. Carolina St., 4.38

10. Tariq Castro-Fields, Penn St., 4.38

10. Cam Taylor-Britt, Nebraska, 4.38

10. Dax Hill*, Michigan, 4.38

14. Damarri Mathis, Pitt, 4.39

14. Jalynn Armour-Davis, Alabama, 4.39

14. Kaiir Elam, Florida, 4.39

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