Chicago Bears CB Kyle Fuller Close To Earning 'Bust' Label

He didn’t know it at the time, but when Phil Emery selected Kyle Fuller in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, it was his final first-round selection as Chicago Bears general manager. 18 games into Fuller’s career, it looks like he may be no more talented than Emery’s first draft selection as Bears GM, Shea McClellin.

McClellin has struggled mightily in his career, and the only reason he still has a roster spot is because the Bears have a glaring lack of depth all over the defensive side of the field. After two games, add Fuller to the list of struggling former Bears draft picks.

Fuller made a splash as a rookie, netting three interceptions in his first three games. He looked like a playmaker who was going to help fortify a struggling defense. In those first three games, he also had four passes defended; over his next 11 games, he only had three. Fuller looked a little better the last two games of the season, but during that 11-game stretch, he looked lost on several occasions and was routinely beaten for long gains down the field. Fuller gave up 64 catches for 841 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie, all highs on the team.

Entering 2015, many people hoped that Fuller’s struggles were due to a defense that was failing on multiple levels and with a better coaching staff in place, he would be ready to shine again. What has transpired in the first two games of the season is quite the opposite, and quite a problem for the Bears.

Fuller had a rough Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers, including getting horribly juked By Randall Cobb that opened Cobb up to gain an additional 30 yards beyond where Fuller should have stopped him originally. Aaron Rodgers only threw towards Fuller six times, but he completed all six of those passes for 95 yards, nearly half of his total passing yardage for the game. In Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals, Fuller was even worse. He was burned for two Larry Fitzgerald touchdowns and was called for a 42-yard pass interference play against John Brown that resulted in another touchdown two plays later for the Cardinals.

Fuller was so bad that he watched the fourth quarter from the bench, only making a couple appearances on special teams. After listening to John Fox in the postgame press conference, that may be where Fuller stays moving forward.

The Bears don’t have enough talent to be benching first-round picks due to poor play. Fuller was slated to be a young up and coming star for this Chicago team, and now, just 18 games into his career, he looks more lost than he did at the start. It goes to show you how important drafting is and how the Bears aren’t in a position to miss on first-round picks. On their current roster, only one former first-round pick is a reliable starter (Kyle Long). In total, the Bears only have three first-round picks on the active roster with Kevin White on the injured list. The Bears’ drafting record has been abysmal and this again shows the how important drafting will be for Ryan Pace.

Fuller is still young and can still turn it around. He showed the talent to play corner at the NFL level early in his rookie year. But at this point in his career, the Bears should be seeing a lot more growth out of Fuller instead of the regression they’ve seen. Fuller was selected with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2014 draft. If you look at the 2015 draft, you’ll see the Kansas City Chiefs selected Marcus Peters with the No. 18 overall selection. Peters has shown the ability to play tight coverage, make plays, and overall just has a nose for the football. He will be a shutdown corner at the NFL level. If you spend that high of a selection on a corner, that’s the type of production you expect.

You can’t call Fuller a bust after 18 career games, but you can certainly question his viability as part of the Bears’ plans moving forward. Fuller will have more opportunities to prove that he can be a solid corner at the NFL level, but after two games, Vic Fangio and coach Fox have yet another problem on their hands, and this one they didn’t see coming.

Bill Zimmerman is a featured writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter or like him on Facebook.