If you want to get to know who Kyle Fuller is as a person, this tweet is a good starting point:
With the Bears’ resurgence has come a team-wide marketing push to get as many players into the Pro Bowl as possible. Plenty of players are using their social media platforms on Twitter and Instagram to promote their Pro Bowl bids. Every one of those Bears’ players in that tweet above has a Twitter account.
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Except for Fuller.
“I thought that was kind of funny,” Fuller said, laughing. “Somebody showed me something, I was the only one that just had my name. I kinda like it. It’s a little different.”
Fuller’s not into self-promotion, or even having a social media presence. He has an Instagram account, but never uses it.
“He’s pop pop. I always call him that,” safety Adrian Amos said. “He’s like a grandfather, he’s an oldhead. He likes playing golf, watching film. He’s like the oldhead.”
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Instead, Fuller is happy to let his play — or his teammates — do the talking for him.
“I look at it like what you do on the field is what does it,” Fuller said. “I mean, all that stuff helps, but that’s not me.”
And yet, Fuller is leading all cornerbacks in Pro Bowl votes with less than a week left for fans to vote.
“Yeah, that’s crazy,” said safety Eddie Jackson, who himself leads safeties in Pro Bowl votes. “And he’s leading right now, so that says a lot of how good he’s playing.
Fuller’s six interceptions are tied for the second-most in the NFL through 12 games, and his 18 passes defensed (breakups plus interceptions) leads the league. Opposing quarterbacks have a passer rating of 68.7 when throwing Fuller’s way, the 10th lowest among cornerbacks who’ve been targeted at least 20 times in coverage, per Pro Football Focus.
There’s no question Fuller is having a standout, Pro Bowl-worthy season. The circumstances under which it’s happening, though, make it all the more impressive.
First: Fuller signed a four-year, $56 million offer sheet from the Green Bay Packers in March, which the Bears matched to retain him. Per Spotrac, $19 million was deposited into his bank account when the Bears matched that contract. The $14 million average annual value of Fuller’s contract is fifth-highest among cornerbacks, behind only some of the NFL’s biggest names (Josh Norman, Trumaine Johnson, Xavier Rhodes and Patrick Peterson).
And yet, his play has neither declined nor stagnated — it’s improved, which isn’t always a given, defensive backs coach Ed Donatell said.
“I think it’s uncommon,” Donatell said. “When you reward and invest in a player and they have high character, it makes it a way better investment.
“That’s all him. He took the bull by the horns, worked his tail off and had a great year. Other people around the league saw that, so he was rewarded here. Just neat that he was able to stay here. And now we’re seeing the fruits of the whole process.”
That process could’ve been derailed back in early September, when Fuller dropped what should’ve been a game-clinching interception against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Instead, the Bears blew that game in a gutting one-point loss, with Fuller a prime scapegoat.
“Kyle’s so strong mentally, I always say he has a Mamba mentality on game day,” cornerback Prince Amukamara said. “Because if you look at the first week, he drops the pick that could end the game and he gives up one — I mean, that could’ve defined his season if he let it.”
Fuller didn’t, and that speaks to the kind of player he is. He’s rewarding the Bears after they rewarded him.
If there’s one other window into the kind of player and person Fuller is — beyond his shunning of social media — it’s in how much film he watches, and where he watches it. He’ll watch film in the cold tubs or hot tubs at Halas Hall, which isn’t all that abnormal.
But at a nice dinner for defensive players? That’s not exactly normal.
“We were at dinner one night, at RPM Italian, and he pulled out his phone or something,” outside linebacker Khalil Mack said. “I don’t know what he had on him at the time. Kyle is a student of the game. He’ll pull his film out any and everywhere.”
That film-at-dinner story is one mentioned by Jackson, Amos and safety DeAndre Houston-Carson, too, as well as Fuller himself. It’s all part of his commitment to be the best player he can be — Amukamara likened Fuller’s film study to the amount a quarterback typically watches leading up to a game.
“He’s probably watching it while he’s driving,” Jackson joked.
All of those efforts have led Fuller to be one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL this year. You won’t see Fuller beating his chest or trying to stump for support to make the Pro Bowl, though. But those around the league have certainly taken notice of just how well he’s playing.
“A great player, he’s got great situational understanding, great ball skills to be able to finish and somebody that has certainly made a lot of plays,” Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay said. “I got a lot of respect for him.”
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