Chicago Bears defensive lineman Shemar Turner Brett Patzke-Imagn Images

A few words from new Chicago Bears defensive lineman Shemar Turner

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI
By Alan Goldsher | Last updated Apr 25, 2025 10:09 PM ET

Coming into the off-season, one of the Chicago Bears’ oft-stated goals was to fix the trenches.

And what better way to do so than with a chiseled specimen who has the flexibility to play literally every position on the defensive line?

A specimen like Texas A&M's Shemar Turner.

The Bears selected the 6’4”, 300-pound defensive Swiss Army knife in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. And throughout the draft process, Turner has proven to be a chatty, thoughtful, pragmatic young man, so we'll let’s Shemar speak for himself.

On his ideal weight: “For how athletic I am, for how strong I am, 290. I feel like I’m a real advantage on the inside. A guard is really going to have a problem with me in the league.”

On his best physical feature: “My long arm. Everything is off [of arm] power.”

On his best non-football feature: “I’m really resilient, man. I can really do whatever I put my mind to. It’s more mental than physical.”

On his relationship with coaches: “If you are a guy that loves the sport of football, you love being coached hard. It doesn't matter what it is. It can be on and off the field. Like I said, it can be missing breakfast. I want a coach on me if I miss anything, and I don't miss nothing.”

On his work ethic: “[I don’t like] a lot of unnecessary talking when you can be working. Just that right there pretty much is just putting your head down and working, grinding, and going 100% every day, getting better.”