Five key questions facing Bears defensive line heading to OTAs

When full teams get together for the start of organized team activities next week, more will be apparent about those big questions regarding veteran players as well as the unanswered ones about rookies.

Here are questions the Bears defensive line faces going into OTAs and answers for a few of them could be provided by how they're using personnel in those practices. Others will need to wait.

1. Gervon Dexter's position

Their defensive tackle was named by Pro Football Focus' Jonathan Macri as the Bears' most unheralded player but no one can be exactly sure where this unheralded player is going to line up this year.

He showed up visibly lighter for conditioning work. Then the Bears announced at rookie camp they would have Turner line up at defensive tackle at the outset.

The Bears haven't brought in a defensive end in free agency beyond starter Dayo Odeyingbo. Is it possible the plan is to use Dexter in a regular rotation on the edge?

Last year Dexter lined up over the tackle or outside the tackle 144 times. That's an edge position. He was in the B-gap 396 times, which is 3-technique, and in the A-gap 71 times.

Dexter displayed good ability to overpower tackles with bull rush when he did line up outside.

When Dexter played against the run, PFF graded him 56th out of 219 interior defensive linemen in the league. He was 49th rushing the passer from inside.

Considering what they've done at tackle, Dexter almost looks like a spare part for tackle. Defensive tackles don't provide the rush they can get from lining up bigger edge players on the inside, so on game day there's not as much need to have numbers active at tackle. It's the edge where the numbers are needed, or with edges who can shift inside for passing situations.

They signed Grady Jarrett as a classic 3-technique. They plan to use Turner as a 3-technique, and that's where Dexter played last year. They have Andrew Billings back for the nose and Chris Williams can play either. Massive Jonathan Ford is a nose. Dexter would appear better off being used at edge and shifting inside in obvious passing situations.

Their third edge rusher is second-year edge Austin Booker, who had 1 1/2 sacks and six pressures for 283 (27%) of the defensive snaps in 17 games. That's not much production. They need the help outside.

Add all of that up and it looks like Dexter sliding outside even more than last year or playing there most of his snaps. Is it possible Dexter isn't even a starter at tackle now that they have Jarrett?

None of this may become evident entirely until they're actually practicing with pads on or even in the regular season.

2. How much is Billings valued?

One of the first things Ben Johnson said about his defense after coming to Halas Hall was how much weaker he saw their defense without Billings last year when he was out with a torn pectoral muscle.

"This year (2024), what was a little different than 2023 was Billings being out," Johnson said. "Him being out, we could feel that when we played Chicago."

Yet, they're paying Billings ($3.32 million cap number) almost the same amount as Williams ($3.26 million), a backup who has been on the field for 474 NFL snaps in a career that started in 2021.

The Bears must decide if Billings is dominant and their most valuable defensive lineman and pay him better or determine this is his last season. He needs an extension.

3. What does Grady Jarrett have left?

This isn't a positional issue, just age and health issue. The Bears will no doubt keep from overworking Jarrett in the offseason and training camp. Last year he struggled as he came back from an ACL tear. It's tough for almost all players the season after an ACL tear but the problem with Jarrett is he is 32 and coming back from one. This is always tough.

4. Was Dayo Odeyingbo really that good?

They treated Odeyingbo like a defensive force with a three-year contract averaging $16 million a year. Yet, he's never been graded higher than 76th among the league's edge players by Pro Football Focus.

Considering he needs to take advantage of one-on-ones so there is not as much double-teaming of Montez Sweat, will he be able to do it? He's supposed to be a rising young player but not being graded higher than 76th in four seasons is pretty definitive.

5. Will the real Sweat surface?

The Sweat who played in the second half of 2023 was nothing like last year's. He played last year through a painful shin injury and keeping it from being aggravated was fairly difficult. More importantly, the double-teaming on him rendered his play ordinary.

It's going to continue until other players show they can provide a counter, and will he be up to facing this again?