Bears Question of the Day: Does Gervon Dexter deserve more respect?

Chicago’s second pick in the 2023 draft is a bit of a Rorschach test for Bears fans. Is Gervon Dexter a good player or a barely adequate one? The eye test tells a conflicting story. He seldom commands double teams. He produces but not reliably. 

In 2025 he was 50th of all players in sacks, and depending on whose numbers you trust and who you are willing to consider a defensive tackle, Dexter’s ranks against the passing game will be “high” but fairly variable. He was roughly 12th in sacks for interior defenders (though he is 9th per PFF, who also list him with one extra sack). He was 11th in pressures (or 18th per PFF) by position. In general, his profile shows that he was able to apply above-average pressure on the quarterback from the interior. 

His rate stats compare favorably as well. Dexter has a sack rate of 1.7% and a pressure rate of 12.3%. Those are higher than Leonard Williams (1.5% and 9.4%) and Byron Murphy (1.6% and 9.7%), but behind Chris Jones (1.6% and 14.4%) or Jeffrey Simmons (2.7% and 15.5%). So at least in this regard, he is not just a volume producer. 

His performance is worse against the run. He’s credited with 9 tackles for a loss per SIS Data Hub but only 6 per Pro Football Reference. His 44 total tackles places him roughly 31st among interior defensive lineman. Notably, he allowed an average depth of tackle of 2.2 yards, which is only .1 yard worse than Jeffrey Simmons and identical to Byron Murphy II. He does enough, arguably, but not much more than that.

Perhaps the truest test of his overall ability is to look at his contributions in the playoffs. He was tied for 136th of all postseason defenders in total tackles and recorded no sacks or tackles for a loss. He had little functional impact when other members of the defense stepped up.

This, to me, is the answer. Gervon Dexter can be a solid defensive tackle in rotation and is a reliable part of a defensive line. However, he is not the sort of impact player who changes the math. He’s pretty good on a defensive line that needs a difference-maker. When compared to other second-round picks by Ryan Poles, he seems closer to Jaquan Brisker (the type of player who is allowed to move on in free agency after four years of service) than he is to Kyler Gordon (a player who it’s best to lock up and extend into the future).

However, now it’s your turn. Does Gervon Dexter deserve more or less respect from Bears fans?