Windy City Gridiron
Following the drastic changes on the coaching staff, Bears fans should expect a new-look defense. Although most starting jobs are taken, there are plenty of roles yet to be carved out. We’ll dive deeper into the three most intriguing defensive camp battles.
Training camp is around the corner, which means it’s time to take stock of what to expect in camp and the preseason. For the Chicago Bears, it was yet another active offseason, which means there will be plenty of new faces competing for playing time and roster spots. In our first of two installments, we’ll take a look at three defensive training camp battles that are sure to steal some headlines in August.
Even if this defense doesn’t have the same talent as it did under Vic Fangio in 2018, there are plenty of reasons for optimism. Whether it’s watching their newly added defensive tackle depth battle it out for playing time, figuring out who will start at SAM, or finding the primary man off the bench at defensive end, there are plenty of storylines to keep an eye on over the next six weeks.
During former head coach Matt Eberflus’ three-year tenure in Chicago, it seemed like he was always searching for the right defensive tackle combination to elevate his defense to the next level. Despite adding a pair of Day 2 picks during the 2023 draft, this group simply never took off.
During the offseason, there was considerable discussion that new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen prioritized adding resources to the interior of his defensive line. Following the early signing of defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo in the early hours of the legal negotiation period, the emphasis shifted to securing more defensive tackle depth.
Those moves started with giving an original round tender to Chris Williams and continued by giving veteran Grady Jarrett a three-year, $42.75 million deal hours after being released in Atlanta and spending a late second-round pick on Texas A&M’s Shemar Turner. Defensive tackle went from being one of their weakest positions on the roster to one of the deepest.
Now, the question surrounding this group revolves around snap counts and opportunities. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where the Bears gave Jarrett $14.25 million per year to be a rotational player. With Andrew Billings returning from a torn pectoral muscle, which he suffered in the middle of last season, there are plenty of questions surrounding his role in this new defense moving forward. Although he’s their best run stuffer, Billings offers very little when it comes to his value as a pass rusher.
Gervon Dexter Sr. is coming off a career-best 53 tackles, 19 quarterback hits, and five sacks. The issue is that most of his sack production came early in the season before tailing off in that department. At just 23 years old, his best football should be ahead of him, but is he ready to step into a more versatile role that involves being stout against the...
