CHICAGO (670 The Score) — Though he isn’t lacking confidence, Bears defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. may have sold himself short in setting a personal goal for the 2024 season.
Dexter set a goal to record eight sacks this season. He’s already halfway there, with four sacks in the first five games.
“Each week, I feel like it goes up and up every week now,” Dexter said of his sack total. “You get closer (to eight sacks), it just keeps going up for me.”
The 23-year-old Dexter is having the type of breakout season that the Bears hoped to see. Dexter returned to the Bears this offseason with a trimmer 6-foot-6 frame, allowing him to launch off the snap with better explosion. He made strict changes to his diet that led to his body transformation.
But perhaps the biggest difference for Dexter in his second NFL season is a newfound comfort in his role.
“I feel a lot improved,” Dexter said. “I feel like my knowledge for the game has gotten a lot better. And that will take it a long way, and it is that. When you go out there and you can play free, you kind of know a bit more going into your second year.
“It feels good to know that the work you put in during this offseason and during camp, it’s paying off. But there’s still a lot of stuff that I need to improve on, and I’m currently working on.”
The Bears selected Dexter with the No. 52 overall pick in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. They did so while understanding he would face a steep learning curve.
Dexter had only 17 pressures in 17 games as a rookie in 2023, when he struggled to adapt from a two-gap assignment at Florida to his one-gap role with the Bears. Dexter's body also wasn’t conditioned well enough to handle the demands of his position. He had 2.5 sacks as a rookie, with those coming late in the season.
Dexter has registered 10 pressures in the first five games this season to go with his four sacks. The Bears have long been searching for a difference-making three-technique defensive tackle – it's the position that head coach Matt Eberflus considers to be engine that drives his defense – and Dexter is proving he can handle the job.
"He changed his body, and he really worked hard,” Eberflus said. “And he really goes hard in practice. He's got his wind and conditioning part of it down, and he really established that during training camp. He really does a good job of taking care of his body, so he's available. He does that really well, and he just owned the position.
“I really think he's taken off that way, and he's got the athletic ability and determination to get that done. So, again this is week-to-week (improvement process). He's building on some good performances, and we'll see him hopefully go forward with it."
For Dexter, each sack he records this season is affirmation – both for himself and the Bears. It’s proof that the work he put forth in the offseason is paying off as hoped.
Dexter is becoming the type of disruptive defensive lineman that he and the Bears imagined he could be. There’s a great deal of pride in that coming to fruition.
“When you put the work in, it always shows,” Dexter said. “You can’t cheat the game. When you put the work in, it shows up on Sundays.”
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.