Chicago Bears second year defensive tackle Gervon Dexter was the product of some very early camp hype among the fans and media, but that hype has tapered off as the games have started.
Gervon Dexter reshaped his body in the off-season dropping a reported 15 pounds and doing the defensive end conditioning test on the first day 2024 Chicago Bears training camp. He then followed it up with numerous impressive workouts in non padded practices. Fans and media alike were very excited about the revamped Gervon Dexter,
A breakout player is looming on the Chicago Bears' defensive line.#DaBearshttps://t.co/iArXzFNIpT
— The Draft Network (@TheDraftNetwork) August 14, 2024
Gervon Dexter 📈 pic.twitter.com/uJ1zJA2eCJ
— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) July 23, 2024
And then Gervon Dexter had a completely underwhelming pre-season debut against the Buffalo Bills. Showing again a complete lack of ability as a pass rusher, or any ability to explode up the field and be disruptive. From there he highlighted a complete lack of pass rushing moves or counters. As was highlighted in the 2023 PFF NFL Draft Guide, Dexter has “No pass rushing moves to speak of, is content to start every rep with a two-handed engage, is very high cut for an interior player.”
And thus far these negatives directly correlate to the struggles Dexter shows on game day. Against the Bills’ starting offensive line last week Dexter was constantly washed out and overwhelmed in the run game. As a pass rusher he showed very little ability to push the pocket or be a disruptive force inside. At best he could use some power to move the blocker back a couple of steps but overall was completely stoned at the line of scrimmage time and again.
Cut to week 2 of the pre-season against the Bengals and Dexter has better success against second and third team players which generates some excitement among Bears fans who don’t seem to understand that the Bengals played their backups instead of their starters according to this dept chart.
Against the Bengals he plays better, but better only against guy listed as low as third team on the Bengals depth chart. His success comes better as looking like a one-technique or a possible two-gap player. He’s not firing off the ball and getting through the gaps like a typical penetrating 3-technique. Right now, there will have to be a lot of growth from Dexter to show that he’s more than just a potential backup player in the NFL.
Dexter plays far too high with his pad level and leaves his chest plate exposed for offensive linemen to stymie and drive he has from his legs. His lack of counter moves as a pass rusher is even more disconcerting for the player that’s supposed to be the engine in the 4-3 one-gap defense.
Right now, Gervon Dexter is far below the level of disruption we saw from Justin Jones when Jone racked up racked 12 tackles for a loss in 2022 and 10 tackles for a loss in 2023. Additionally, Jones had 17 QB hits in 2023 to go with 4.5 sacks. This isn’t to say Jones is a high-quality player, he is simply a lot better than Gervon Dexter is and by a wide margin.
Jones was a combination of two things for the Chicago Bears. First, he was very much a disruptive player who was able to explode through gaps and generate high tackle for a loss numbers. Second however he was prone to taking risks and getting out of his gap and leaving a massive running lane for the back to charge through.
Jones being a disruptive player however is far better than the blocking sled level of ability we’ve seen thus far form Gervon Dexter. Dexter isn’t getting through gaps; he’s not disrupting the passing lanes and he’s not getting his arms up in passing lanes despite being on the tall side for a typical NFL defensive tackle. Dexter is going to need to take a massive step forward in order to become a starting quality defensive tackle in the NFL.
And with all of the talk about the Chicago Bears trading for an edge rusher to compliment Montez Sweat, Ryan Poles may want to shift his focus to finding a competent defensive tackle to start in front of Dexter. Because at least Demarcus Walker has proven to be a capable starting defensive end in the NFL with a low floor.
Gervon Dexter however hasn’t shown any starting abilities as of yet. The need for a starting caliber 3-technique is far more important to this defense than another edge rusher. Historically the Bears’ best defenses have been when they’ve had strong players on the interior whether it’s been Tommie Harris, Henry Melton or Akiem Hicks as the 3-technique goes, so goes the success of the Chicago Bears defense.
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