Bears Rookie Report Card: Evaluating Gervon Dexter's first season in Chicago

The Chicago Bears 2023 draft class proved to be a major hit for Ryan Poles in his second draft as the team's general manager.

Before we look forward to the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft, we will be looking back on the Bears' 2023 draft class and evaluating how each draft pick performed during their first season in Chicago.

On Friday, I dove into the Bears' first-round pick and starting right tackle Darnell Wright. Today, the focus will be on the team's second pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. out of Florida. The Bears drafted Dexter with the 53rd overall pick in the draft after acquiring the pick from the Baltimore Ravens the team got from trading linebacker Roquan Smith at the 2022 trade deadline.

Gervon Dexter Sr. 2023 Season Overview

The second-round pick out of Florida played all 17 games for the Bears in 2023, making one start in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers. He played a critical role in the interior of the defensive line as a rotational piece. Dexter split snaps between Andrew Billings, Justin Jones, and fellow rookie Zacch Pickens at the position.

He wasn't a consistent threat as a pass rusher or run defender but the rookie continued to show major improvements each week he stepped onto the field. Dexter ended his season on a high note and should be in line for a higher snap count during his second season in 2024.

2023 Snap Counts and Stats

Dexter ended up playing an average of 39.8 percent of the team's defensive snaps during the regular season. As a rotational piece, his role was limited, but he had many fans in the media who continuously asked head coach Matt Eberflus if Dexter would be given more of a role on the defensive line. That role eventually came with Dexter playing 40+ percent of the snaps in each of the last five contests of the season.

Overall statistically, Dexter finished the season with 2.5 sacks, 20 combined tackles, 12 QB hits, and two pass deflections. According to Pro Football Focus, Dexter's 11.9 pass rush win percentage ranked third among rookie interior defensive linemen trailing only Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Carter and Los Angeles Rams' Kobie Turner, each of whom were finalists for the 2023 Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

Dexter finished the season with a 65.9 pass rush grade but had a disappointing 36.2 run defense grade. His overall grade of a 50.9 ranked 20th on the team's defense.

Dexter's highest graded game came in Week 5 against the Washington Commanders  (85.5) where he recorded two QB hits and generated a season-high six total pressures. His efforts in that game helped the Bears earn their first victory of the season.

His lowest graded game came in Week 17 against the Atlanta Falcons (34.5) where he finished the game with four total pressures but added 1.5 sacks. PFF credited Dexter with a 29.8 run defense grade which tanked his overall performance.

Notable Plays

It took Dexter a while to really get going during his rookie season, but in Week 14 against the Detroit Lions, he was finally able to record his first sack in the NFL.