Ranking the Chicago Bears' 5 Best Options at Nickelback

Over the course of the last several years, the Chicago Bears used D.J. Moore, Isaiah Frey and Demontre Hurst at the nickelback position, but they produced mixed results.

In four seasons with the Bears from 2009 to 2012, Moore hauled in 10 interceptions, but his play dropped off significantly near the end of the 2012 season. According to Pro Football Focus, Frey played 515 snaps at nickelback in 2013 and finished the year with a minus-4.9 overall grade.

Frey played three games out of the slot for Chicago last season before he was cut after the team's Week 5 loss to the Carolina Panthers. With Frey out of the picture, Hurst took over nickelback duties for the remainder of the season.

Hurst is still in the running for the nickelback job this offseason, but he will face tough competition from a few proven veterans and an undrafted free agent.

Just ahead, we rank Chicago's five best options at nickelback from No. 5 to No. 1.

5. Demontre Hurst

Matt Marton/Associated Press

Hurst went undrafted in 2013 out of the University of Oklahoma, but the young defensive back signed with the Bears that April as an undrafted free agent.

He spent the entire offseason and training camp with the team before he was cut in late August. The Bears re-signed him that September, and he spent the entire season on the team's practice squad.

He signed a reserve/future contract with the Bears at the end of the 2013 season and made the 53-man roster out of training camp last summer.

He appeared in Chicago's Week 1 contest against the Buffalo Bills on special teams but was released the next day. Following an injury to veteran cornerback Charles Tillman in Week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers, Hurst re-signed with the team.

According to Pro Football Focus, Hurst played 373 snaps out of the slot last season and finished the year with a minus-1.8 overall grade. Out of the 39 passes thrown in his direction, he allowed 33 receptions for 462 yards and three touchdowns. 

Hurst showed flashes of his potential at times last season, and he recorded his first career interception in Week 6 against the Atlanta Falcons. Following his first career interception, he noted he needed to continue working on the little things, according to Beth Gorr of BearReport.com:

"

I want to go out there and feel I can be just as good as any other nickel in the league. That means doing my job, not trying to do too much, begin in the proper position, that kind of thing. It’s a growing process learning each and every week. Right now I’m everywhere learning corner, learning nickel. That's a good thing. If you become static in your development, you aren’t going to succeed.

So much of success at this level is in taking care of details. You need to refine your technique, watch the veterans and pay attention in meetings. Physically you need to be in top shape but there is a lot more to playing well than that.

"

He played well at times against the run last season, but he struggled going up against speedy receivers out of the slot. New general manager Ryan Pace was impressed enough with what he saw from Hurst last season to sign the young cornerback to a two-year, $1.1 million deal this past February.

Hurst is an intriguing option at nickelback because he is physical at the line of scrimmage and is not afraid to step up against the run, but he lacks the speed to keep up with most slot receivers. He could still make the team as a special teams contributor, but he appears to be a long shot to reclaim the nickelback job in 2015.

4. Bryce Callahan

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Despite having a need at the position, the Bears opted not to use a draft pick on a cornerback this offseason. Instead, the team signed undrafted free agents Bryce Callahan, Jacoby Glenn and Qumain Black after the draft concluded.

Glenn and Black have the potential to earn a spot on the practice squad this season, but Callahan has a chance to push for the nickelback job this summer.

Callahan was a four-year starter at Rice and finished his collegiate career with 145 total tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and 13 interceptions. 

The young cornerback is not afraid to be physical at the line of scrimmage, uses his hands well to create separation and he has enough speed to keep up with quick slot receivers. He needs to improve his technique, particularly his footwork, but he is a great fit out of the slot because of his ball skills and athleticism.

Pushing for the nickelback job will be difficult for the undrafted free agent, but he has more upside and potential than Hurst. Even though Hurst is an experienced slot corner, Callahan is a better fit because of his speed and athleticism. 

He may have a hard time beating out veterans like Alan Ball, Tracy Porter and Tim Jennings for the position, but he could give the Bears reliable depth this season at the nickelback position.

3. Alan Ball

Uncredited/Associated Press

The Bears signed Ball to a one-year, $3 million deal this offseason, and the veteran cornerback is excited for an opportunity to play in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's scheme.

“I just see opportunity in a new defense that is coming in,” Ball said, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.  “I’ve watched Vic’s defense in the past and what he does for his players and the situations he puts them in. You have to be excited about that."

The Dallas Cowboys selected Ball in the seventh round of the 2007 draft, and the former University of Illinois standout played cornerback, nickelback and free safety in his five years with the team. He spent the 2012 season with the Houston Texans and the last two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Ball is listed at 6'2" and weighs 197 pounds, and he may be a better fit on the outside in Fangio's scheme. Fangio prefers bigger, stronger cornerbacks on the outside, but Ball has shown in the past he can play both inside and outside.

At this point in his career, Ball is willing to play wherever the team needs him the most, according to Biggs:

"

Right now I am just looking for the opportunity to come in and help. Any defense that you join, there are some good players there now. So just the opportunity to come in and compete and be a part of that secondary is what I am looking for. My fit is going to be determined by how I perform and how other guys perform and how the scheme fits and what situations are best for us as players.

"

Ball suffered a biceps injury last season and missed the final nine games of the year. He also missed some time this offseason due to an undisclosed injury. Even though head coach John Fox did not get to see a lot of Ball during OTAs, he was impressed by what he saw from the veteran cornerback on film.

"I thought he was a steady performer a year ago on tape," Fox said, per Kevin Fishbain of ChicagoFootball.com. "I haven't had a chance to see him a whole lot here. Other than that, he's made some good progress, and our goal is to have him ready for the season."

If healthy, Ball's versatility will be a huge asset on defense for the Bears. He has the ability to line up on the outside at cornerback or inside at nickelback. He is a better fit on the outside because of his size, but he could end up being the team's best option out of the slot if others struggle.

2. Tracy Porter

Matt Marton/Associated Press

In addition to signing Ball to a one-year contract this offseason, the Bears also signed Porter to a one-year deal. 

A second-round pick of New Orleans in 2008, Porter spent the first four years of his career with the Saints before playing for the Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders and Washington Redskins between 2012 and 2014.

In 68 career games, Porter has registered 287 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 51 pass deflections and 10 interceptions. He played in just three games last season for the Redskins and was eventually placed on injured reserve in November due to a shoulder injury. Washington released him this past May, and the Bears signed him following a workout in early June.

Porter played in New Orleans when Pace was the Saints' director of pro scouting, and he also played for Fox in Denver in 2012.

“I just felt like it was the right situation, the right place for me," Porter said, according to Larry Mayer of ChicagoBears.com. "To have a familiarity with Coach Fox and to know Ryan Pace and a lot of those guys in the front office and a couple of coaches on the staff and to be familiar with the playbook, that had a lot to [do with it]. It was just the right fit.”

Porter is listed at 5'11" and 188 pounds, and Fox thinks the veteran cornerback can play out of the slot.

"He's smart enough to do that," Fox said of Porter, according to Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune. "He can play in all three spots on the sub-defenses, so we'll wait and see how it shakes out."

The former Indiana Hoosier is a tough cornerback who uses his hands well and has the ability to go up and fight for the football. He also has fluid hips and does a good job of reading the quarterback's eyes. He struggles at times with bigger receivers, but he is a solid presence against the run. 

He has been plagued by injuries throughout much of his career, but if he can stay healthy during training camp and the preseason, he has a chance to be the team's No. 1 nickelback in 2015.

1. Tim Jennings

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Jennings signed with the Bears in 2010 and broke out in a big way in 2012. He was a steady contributor in 2010 and 2011, but he registered a career-high nine interceptions in 2012 and was named to his first career Pro Bowl. 

Jennings backed up his strong 2012 season in 2013 by recording 49 tackles, four interceptions and three forced fumbles and was named to his second straight Pro Bowl. 

After the Bears drafted Kyle Fuller in the first round of the 2014 draft, they decided they were going to slide Jennings down to the slot in the team's nickel package, with Fuller taking over Jennings' spot on the outside. 

“I’ve been kind of wanting to play nickel since I got here,” Jennings said last offseason, according to John Mullin of CSNChicago.com. “So now that I have the opportunity, I’m kind of excited about it. We’ll see how it goes.”

Jennings never got a real opportunity to prove himself out of the slot last season because Tillman's injury forced Fuller into the starting lineup for the rest of the year.

With Fangio in place as the team's defensive coordinator, Jennings may be without a starting job this season. Fangio prefers big cornerbacks, and Jennings (5'8", 185 lbs) is the smallest cornerback on Chicago's roster.

Even though Jennings is not a good fit on the outside, he could be a great fit on the inside at nickelback.

"Dimension-wise, he's built like a nickel corner," Fox said about Jennings, according to Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune. "He has played it before."

Jennings is a good fit on the inside at nickelback because he is not intimidated by bigger receivers and he has a knack for making big plays. He works better in zone coverage, but he has enough speed to play man-to-man coverage out of the slot. 

The Bears may decide it is best to keep him on the outside in their base defense and move him into the slot on passing downs, but if Ball impresses in camp on the outside, Jennings could end up being the team's primary nickelback this season.

Statistical information courtesy of NFL.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise noted. Contract information courtesy of Spotrac. Measurables courtesy of ChicagoBears.com.

Matt Eurich is a Chicago Bears featured columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.

Follow @MattEurich