Former Bears’ DT Anthony ‘Spice’ Adams talks elevating NASCAR in a football town.
Bears fans know Anthony Adams from his time suiting up at Soldier Field. Now, he wants to help another sport grow in Chicago while learning about it himself.
A Scout’s Take: Chicago Bears defensive players I can’t wait to see in camp
Here are a few defensive players that Greg Gabriel is excited to watch at Bears camp.
Training Camp opens for the Chicago Bears rookies in less than two weeks. With that, it’s the start of the 2024 NFL season, and most fans have hope for the Chicago Bears to have a strong year. If that is to happen, both the offense and defense will have to show improvement over a year ago. The Bears’ defense played very well in the second half of 2023 but still needs to improve. For that to happen, there are some players that need to improve their play from a year ago. The following are a few that I feel will.
Gervon Dexter Sr.
Dexter was the Bears’ second-round pick a year ago and got considerable playtime as a rookie in the defensive line rotation. The Bears’ defensive scheme is very different from the one Dexter played in while at Florida, so it was like he had to re-learn how to play the defensive tackle position.
At Florida, he played in a 2-gap scheme that had him head-up on an offensive lineman. He did not have to “attack” like DLinemen do in Chicago’s scheme but rather occupy blockers. Being in a new scheme and having to learn new techniques caused Dexter to start slowly, but by the last third of the 2023 season, he was playing as well as any rookie defensive tackle in the League.
With rookies, we never know how they are going to respond to being a “Pro.” With Dexter, the success he had during the last part of the season showed him how good he could become. Gervon showed his maturity during the off-season and worked out hard to re-define his body and when he reported for the off-season program, he looked like a different person.
Dexter plays the all-important 3-Technique in the Bears scheme, and it’s imperative that he be a player who can attack and disrupt the run and put consistent pressure on the quarterback. If the way he worked in the off-season is an indication, then Gervon Dexter is in for a big season for the Bears this year. Personally, I feel he has the natural traits to become a defensive tackle who plays
and disrupts the way Jeffery Simmons does for the Titans, or Chris Jones does for the Chiefs. I don’t expect Dexter to be in that category as a second-year player, but he has the traits to eventually become as dominant as those players are. He’s actually a better athlete than either of those players, but it’s a matter of putting it all together. My feeling is that he has the “want to” to do it!
Tyrique Stevenson
Like Dexter, Stevenson was a second-round pick for the Bears last year. Tyrique won the starting corner job opposite Jaylon Johnson, and as expected, he was “picked” early in the season.
Being that he was a rookie, opposing offenses game-planned to go after Stevenson, and they did. He gave up a bunch of receptions and some big plays, as well as committing a number of penalties. He also showed that he had a short memory and didn’t let those mistakes bother him.
Like Gervin Dexter, Stevenson came on strong in the second half of the season. All four of his interceptions came in the last six games, as he was playing with much more confidence. His stat line is impressive, as he was credited with 86 total tackles and four interceptions.
In the Bears’ defensive scheme, corners have to be good run support players, and that is exactly what Stevenson is. He has the size, strength, and explosiveness to make plays in the run game, and he does. For a rookie, he did an excellent job getting off blocks and making tackles.
Now, in his second year, I feel he will take a jump. What he learned as a rookie will carry over, and he should start the 2024 season like he finished 2023.
Stevenson was impressive in press coverage a year ago and showed improvement in zone. I expect that he will be even better in zone this year, and if that happens, the Bears will have one of the better corner duos in the League in 1024.
