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.
1. Starting Defensive Tackles
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 run? His ability to be well-rounded could dictate his role early in the season.
Finally, there’s Turner. The former A&M product spent his first three collegiate seasons on the edge, but slid inside during his senior year out of necessity. He’s got a red-hot motor and the ability to be an explosive interior presence. Despite his length, he lacks the true bulk of an interior pass rusher, which could lead to him playing a more supporting role in 2025.
Chicago has four legitimate options to start on the interior, but only two starting jobs are available. It’s easy to argue that the coaching staff has their work cut out for them as they figure out their best starting combination, but it’s a good problem to have. Behind those four are Williams, Jonathan Ford, and 2023 third-round pick Zacch Pickens. Depth shouldn’t be an issue in 2025, but how the coaching staff decides to deploy this group will be fun to watch, especially when Odeyingbo has rotational value on the interior, as well.
2. Linebacker 3
At the start of the team’s voluntary OTA period, head coach Ben Johnson was asked about their plans for the SAM role. He made it clear that they were still weighing outside options, but noted that internal choices deserved a chance to prove themselves first on the field. Former fifth-round pick Noah Sewell has taken the majority of snaps thus far. Although that shouldn’t be surprising, the former Oregon Duck hasn’t shown an ability to stay healthy when he’s on the field during training camp and the preseason.
The team shocked most of the draft community when they took a big swing on Maryland’s Ruben Hyppolite in the back half of Round 4. Many had the four-year college product as a priority, but his blazing 4.39 40-yard time enamored Chicago, which he ran at his Pro Day. If there was one theme early in the Bears’ offseason program, it was the coaching staff not handing any rookie a first-team role. It’s fair to wonder if (and when) Hyppolite can earn first-team reps, and what that will lead to.
Behind Sewell and Hyppolite on the depth chart are a collection of special teams names, including veteran Amen Ogbongbemiga and former undrafted free agent Swayze Bozeman. Carl Jones Jr. was a player the old defense staff was high on coming out of UCLA, but Power Echols is their undrafted competition from this year’s draft class. Overall, there isn’t much proven starting ability behind T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds, which leads many to wonder if an additional move is needed for a free agent. For now, all we can do is preview who is on the roster, which makes the open SAM role that much more intriguing.
3. Defensive End 3
Releasing Demarcus Walker before the start of free agency was a head-scratcher, especially considering their lack of depth at the position. They struck quickly in free agency with Odeyingbo, but depth remains a serious concern heading into training camp.
Behind Odeyingbo and Montez Sweat are plenty of unproven players, headlined by last year’s fifth-round selection, Austin Booker. Although it will be impossible to tell until pads come out next month, it appears that the former Kansas product has benefited from his first full NFL offseason. He looks noticeably bigger, which should help him fit in this defense. Even so, he had just four quarterback hits and 1.5 sacks at the end of his rookie year.
Are the Bears really putting that much faith in a second-year player? Judging by their current roster construction, it seems that way. Behind Booker are a pair of veterans in Daniel Hardy and Dominique Robinson. Hardy doesn’t have an NFL sack to his name, and Robinson is three years removed from his lone full NFL sack. To cloud matters even more, Hardy has been taking snaps at linebacker, and that appears to be a route that the new coaching staff is looking to explore. The back end of the depth chart is flanked by a pair of undrafted free agents who will have to prove value to make the final 53-man roster in late August.
It’s possible that Allen is counting on versatility from players like Dexter and Turner to split time on the edge, but when he was asked about it in OTAs, it sounds like the primary focus for Turner will be on the interior. Although versatility sounds good on paper, it’s much easier for edge rushers to be effective on the interior rather than the other way around. This appears to be a prime spot for the Bears to add an outside name in the coming weeks, but for now, they’ll be hoping someone steps up and takes the role of DE3 by the horns to quell some of those depth concerns.