What Bears Big Guys See in Rookie Gervon Dexter Jr.

Ramping up is over.

Now comes real training camp, when players don pads and hit, and linemen on both sides of the ball, interior and edge alike, come to the forefront.

One who might is rookie Gervon Dexter, the second-round Bears draft pick.

"Oh yeah, Big Dex, that's a man right there," Bears defensive tackle Justin Jones said.

Justin Jones has been watching Dexter and thinks what he does is going to be obvious in practices starting Tuesday.

"I mean, he benches like 500 pounds," Dexter said. "I don't know what to tell you. He's a big, strong guy.

"I mean he's manhandling guys. I mean, you can't even coach that obviously. You can coach him on technical things but the physicality he brings you can't coach that. That's just natural."

The Bears chose to take their offensive tackle in Round 1 in Darnell Wright, and not to draft defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who is drawing high praise in Philadelphia. Their second-round pick needs to step up quickly and Jones believes it could happen as soon as he becomes more acquainted with the mental aspect of the game.

"I think once he really understands the Xs and Os outside of just D-line, line understanding the whole defense and how offenses come and tries to attack certain styles of defenses and certain styles of play, I think he's going to be a real dominant player in this league," Jones said.

It might not be long before Dexter figures it all out.

"When he has questions he will ask me," Jones said. "But he's a really smart player. He takes really good notes. He absorbs a lot of information, so that's a really good thing. I do feel like he's going to play a long time in this league."

It might become apparent as soon as Tuesday.

"We get pads on tomorrow, so honestly, I would expect something huge out of him because he's a real physical dude," Jone said.

Strong Corner

Another player who's strength has impressed is cornerback Terell Smith.

When the Bears had their last ramping-up practice Monday, Smith was again with starters first at right cornerback, then split time with rookie Tyrique Stevenson on the first team defense.

Going against Smith in practice opened up the eyes of rookie wide receiver Tyler Scott.

"I'm surprised how strong he was," Scott said. "I didn't know he was that strong but I think it's definitely his strength that probably to me stands out the most."

Justin Fields went right out after Smith the first play in 7-on-7 with a throw at the numbers to DJ Moore but Smith was up to the task and harassed the veteran enough to break it up.

Smith's competition, Stevenson, did make a pick Monday while in zone coverage in the short-middle in 11-on-11.

Catches and Picks

Monday's light practice included a two-minute drill to end things and quarterback Justin Fields got a little too impatient at the end following a loss on a play. After moving the team near mid-field with just over 30 seconds remaining, he got greedy and threw it up for grabs in the middle of the deep portion of the zone near the goal line.

Bralen Trahan got the gift undrafted rookies everywhere love when he was able to wait for the ball and go up to intercept it.

Trahan had another pick earlier in practice.

Other winners included Chase Claypool, who had a strong practice with a few catches and he also drew a defensive pass interference call from Jaylon Johnson on a intermediate route over the middle during one-on-one work. Later he had a catch over the middle working against Johnson.

Safety Jaquan Brisker won a one-on-one battle to break up a throw intended for Rober Tonyan Jr.

Darnell Mooney won a battle on a shorter route against Kyler Gordon for a catch in one-on-one.

Lining Up

Right guard Nate Davis did not line up initially with the starters but did go in once they went full squad in scrimmage. The Bears continuted looking at different offensive linemen working with the first team throughout practice in an attempt to make sure their depth is solid. Lucas Patrick took some plays at right guard while Larry Borom got onto the field with starters at both left tackle and right tackle. In 11-on-11 to close practice, the starters returned at all positions.

Safety Eddie Jackson returned from a veteran's day off and the Bears gave safety Elijah Hicks a few more plays with the first team during the practice after he had been with starters Saturday with Jackson getting rest.

Linebacker Jack Sanborn had his most extensive amount of time with starters in the base defense at strongside linebakcker.