Gervon Dexter Sr. had a quiet rookie season for the Chicago Bears in 2023 but he was able to break out in a big way by putting in the work before in his sophomore season.
After the 2023 season came to a close and the players left for the early period of the offseason, Dexter took the time to transform his body and returned to the team facilities in remarkable shape.
As a result, Dexter's on-field performance skyrocketed allowing him to become a key piece of Chicago's entire defense.
His total tackles, sacks, and tackles for a loss more than doubled from Year 1 to Year 2 proving he can be an impactful player both as a pass rusher and against the run.
It was a breakout second season by all accounts, but Dexter's production wasn't enough to earn respect from NFL executives, scouts, and coaches entering 2025, which should only motivate Dexter even more this upcoming season.
Gervon Dexter Sr. snubbed from ESPN's Top-10 DT list, honorable mentions
On Tuesday, ESPN ranked the Top-10 defensive tackles entering the 2025 season and included five honorable mentions plus six other players who received votes from over 70 notable people around the league.
Dexter was never mentioned and received no credit for the role he played on the Bears' defensive line in 2024. Someone who did take notice was a coordinator game-planning against Dexter twice a year and now gets to be on the other side of things.
"I can tell you this, just from afar, having called plays against him, he was a guy that really came on last year. You could feel it," Bears' head coach Ben Johnson explained. "With [Andrew] Billings being out last year, you could feel him grow into just a little bit more of, 'Hey, I need to step up here,' and you could see it. You can see it on the tape. There was growth. There was more production, particularly in the pass-rush game."
As a pure pass rusher, Dexter earned the right generate some votes from around the league. His 19 QB Hits ranked 4th among all defensive tackles and he was constantly getting pressure into the backfield.
I understand the defensive tackle is a deep position. Teams can deploy more than two any given snap and constantly rotate. Some of that is what hurt Dexter to an extent. Dexter played 356 pass rush snaps, which ranked 41st among interior defensive lineman, and it's not because he missed two games.
The Bears constantly rotated the defensive line and will continue to do so under new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen plus you're adding Grady Jarrett and second-round rookie Shemar Turner to the mix. However, that rotation will also give Dexter more opportunities to kick off the edge and use his length to expand his game.
Speaking of Jarrett, the free agent signing also received no votes on the list, which is rare for the veteran and should fuel him even more playing alongside Dexter in 2025.
"I think our styles compliment each other very well," Jarrett said about Dexter. "I can't wait to continue to go hunt with the guy."
Rankings such as this can only add more motivation for both interior defensive linemen to go out there and show what they can do when all the pieces are in place. And for Dexter, it's going to be a critical third season when players usually break out into the national season. Let's hope he can finally do that in 2025.
-1749433343-q80.webp "Giants' Russell Wilson Gets Rave Reviews for Heartfelt Message to Ciara")
