Unlikely 2nd-Year Player Dubbed Bears’ Most Crucial This Season

The Chicago Bears have made numerous splashy moves over the past two years, though drafting defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. in the second round in 2023 isn’t near the top of that list.

Chicago selected the lineman out of Florida with the No. 53 overall pick and played him in all 17 games during his rookie campaign, though started him only once. This year, though, that will all change as Dexter elevates to one of the most important, make-or-break pieces on the burgeoning roster.

Benjamin Solak of ESPN dubbed Dexter the team’s X factor on Friday, August 30, noting the departure of Justin Jones in free agency.

This is a big vote of faith in Dexter, who was very up-and-down as a rookie and only started to string together semi-consistent play late in the season. It’s very important that the Bears’ defense has a pass rusher from the interior — they’re a consistent four-down team without many blitz packages or changeups along the defensive line — and starter Andrew Billings has traditionally been a run-defending nose tackle.

After the Montez Sweat trade last season, the Bears quietly came along — they went 5-4, and their defense was fifth in both EPA per play and success rate. If anything takes the wind out of this unit in 2024, it will be a lack of complimentary pass rush to Sweat. Dexter is first on the list to ensure that issue never happens.

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Gervon Dexter Plays Crucial Position in Defense of Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus

The interior of the defensive line is a key cog in the system of head coach Matt Eberflus, who elevated to his current position after four years captaining the defense as a coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts (2018-21).

Eberflus went so far as to tell reporters in March that a three-technique defensive tackle is the most important element of an elite NFL pass rush.

“You look at who affects the quarterback the most — I would argue that the inside piece is also something that we should be looking at, and it’s important that we do that,” Eberflus said. “Direct line to the quarterback. When they max protect, it’s a soft spot in the protection.”

He added that the Bears planned to acquire one such player in the near future. However, that has not happened in the approximately five months since. That it hasn’t suggests Chicago believes Dexter can be that force and will get the chance to do so.

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Bears Must Continue to Improve Pass Rush After Another Year Near Bottom of NFL

Solak mentioned the Sweat trade, which added an influx of energy into an anemic Bears pass rush that finished dead last in the league with just 20 sacks the year prior.

Sweat went on to become a Pro Bowler and finish the year with 12.5 sacks, 6 of which came across nine games with Chicago. However, the Bears ended the campaign with only 30 sacks, which ranked the defense 31st out of 32 teams in that category.

Chicago already traded a sixth-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for Darrell Taylor and his $3.1 million contract. Taylor tallied 5.5 sacks last season and has 21.5 sacks across his three-year career, which should offer Chicago depth on the edge alongside promising rookie Austin Booker.

However, the Bears have more than $9.6 million in salary cap space as of Sunday and could look to make a move on the interior of the line to help collapse opposing pockets and pressure opposing quarterbacks — particularly if Dexter struggles or significant injury strikes the position group.

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