How the Bears saw improvements in Gervon Dexter before he even put the pads on

How the Bears saw improvements in Gervon Dexter before he even put the pads on originally appeared in NBC Sports Chicago

O Bears It’s been a while since I’ve put my pads on in practice, but the team has already noticed improvements in the second-year defensive tackle. Gervon Dexter. In fact, the head coach Matt Eberflus saw a change before the team even arrived at the training camp.

“I looked at body composition first,” Eberflus said Thursday, as the team finalized its first set of OTAs. “It was really good. He changed his body during the time he was off, so he’s a lot leaner now and faster.”

There’s not much to evaluate in the trenches when guys are practicing in shorts, but Eberflus said Dexter’s snap output has improved. Dexter’s quickness in reacting to the snap – or rather, lack of quickness to the snap – was one of the biggest criticisms of his game this time last year. A big reason is that Dexter was asked to read and react to the offensive line when he was in college, whereas the Bears simply want him to attack a single gap right away.

“That was something he had to work on and then level out, because he’s a really big, tall guy,” Eberflus said. “And he worked on those things. But his movement, his athletic ability is even better now because he really worked on his body.”

New Bears defensive coordinator Eric Washington hasn’t seen Dexter work in pads up close, but he can see improvements by studying his 2023 tape.

“Just watching the footwork,” Washington said. “Some of these small but very, very important details with him. Watching his posture, watching his pad level.”

Washington also praised how Dexter is absorbing information at this point in the offseason and noted a “growing confidence” as Dexter makes the jump from year one to year two.

“He is assertive. He believes he belongs in the lineup and can be an important factor.”

The Bears will need Dexter to be a factor because former starter Justin Jones left in free agency and the Bears have yet to replace him. GM Ryan Poles added Byron Cowart in the offseason, but Cowart is not expected to play starting snaps. That leaves Dexter taking over the starting role this season.

Dexter got off to a slow start in his rookie campaign, but noticeably improved as the season progressed. Consequently, he saw an increase in playing time in the second half. Through the first nine games, Dexter averaged 23.5 snaps per game. That has increased to 27.5 snaps over the last eight games.

Its production also increased. Dexter had no sacks, nine tackles and three QB hits from Weeks 1 to 9. But from Week 10 onwards he had 2.5 sacks, 11 tackles and nine QB hits.

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