Player
Jaquan Brisker
S · Bears
Jaquan Brisker: facts drawn from the play-by-play.
Blitz safety: 8 career sacks + 12 QB hits in 54 games — production from the back end.
TrendBrisker by season (Bears)
| Season | G | Solo | Asst | TFL | Sacks | QB Hits | PD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 15 | 63 | 31 | 5 | 4.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 2023 | 15 | 55 | 39 | 3 | 1.0 | 3 | 9 | 1 |
| 2024 | 5 | 20 | 17 | 3 | 1.0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 19 | 63 | 51 | 2 | 2.0 | 4 | 10 | 2 |
Brisker — the 48th pick of the 2022 draft out of Penn State — is one of the most aggressive blitzing safeties in football. 4 sacks as a rookie put him in a 5-year tie for most by a rookie safety, and across 54 career games he's piled up 8 sacks and 12 QB hits.
The 2025 bounce-back is real: 19 games (counting playoffs), 114 combined tackles, 10 PDs, 2 INTs, 2 sacks. After the 2024 concussion scare limited him to 5 games, the comp-eligible season puts him back on his rookie-year trajectory.
4 sacks as a rookie safety in 2022 — tied for 2nd-most by any DB that season.
Rare2022 sack leaders among DBs
| Player | Sacks |
|---|---|
| Donovan Wilson | 5.0 |
| Jaquan Brisker | 4.0 |
| Antoine Winfield Jr. | 4.0 |
| Derwin James | 4.0 |
| L'Jarius Sneed | 3.5 |
| Marlon Humphrey | 3.0 |
Across the entire 2022 season only one DB had more sacks than Brisker (Donovan Wilson, 5). He tied with Derwin James and Antoine Winfield Jr. — both All-Pros — at 4.
Brisker added 4 QB hits and 5 TFLs to that rookie line, the profile of a true creep-blitzer rather than a single-high safety. Matt Eberflus's scheme leaned into it; Eric Washington's current defense leans into it even harder (4 QB hits already in 2025).
2024 concussion scare: 5 games, then a full year off-the-field issues.
AnomalyAfter two healthy rookie-contract seasons, Brisker missed 12 games of 2024 with post-concussion symptoms that put his career in real question. He came back for the 2025 season playing more snaps than any year before — 19 games counting Chicago's playoff run.
The 2025 line (63 solo, 51 assists, 10 PDs, 2 INTs, 2 sacks, 4 QB hits) cleared every threshold from his rookie season except the sack count. As a recovery-from-concussion year, that's an outright win.
Career-high 10 PDs in 2025 — and matched his rookie QB-hit total in the comeback year.
MilestoneBrisker's 10 PDs in 2025 are a career high — and the same season he matched his rookie 4 QB hits. The combined coverage + pressure profile is rare: only 6 DBs in 2025 had both 10+ PDs and 4+ QB hits.
That dual-threat usage is what makes him valuable on his rookie deal's final year. The 2-INT season is also a career high (he'd had exactly 1 INT in each of his previous three years).
171 career solo + 138 assists = 309 combined tackles in just 54 games (5.7/game).
SplitCombined tackles per game
| Season | G | Combined | Per Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 15 | 94 | 6.3 |
| 2023 | 15 | 94 | 6.3 |
| 2024 | 5 | 37 | 7.4 |
| 2025 | 19 | 114 | 6.0 |
Across every season Brisker has averaged between 6.0 and 7.4 combined tackles per game — the kind of consistent run-fit volume that comes from a strong-safety alignment near the line.
The rookie-contract case: 309 combined tackles, 8 sacks, 12 QB hits, 5 INTs in 54 games. For comparison, Budda Baker's first 54 games produced 7 sacks. Brisker is the rare safety who counts as both a coverage chess piece and a pass rusher.
Sacks like Derwin James, PDs like Justin Reid — a hybrid mold rather than a pure free safety.
ComparisonThe right comp for Brisker isn't a center-fielder — it's a box-blitzing strong safety. His 4-year totals (8 sacks, 12 QB hits, 23 PDs, 5 INTs) mirror Derwin James through age-26 (12 sacks, 16 PDs, 4 INTs in his comparable window) more than they mirror a free-safety prototype like Kevin Byard.
Bears defensive coordinator Eric Washington has used Brisker on the line more than any of his predecessors — the 2025 4 QB hits in 19 games show the role is sticky. He's on the franchise tag-or-extend bubble for 2026.
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