Plenty of experts weren’t sure what to make of Gervon Dexter coming out of Florida. Most saw a big, strong defensive tackle who could be a quality nose tackle in the NFL. However, his “lack of get-off” made him an unlikely candidate to become an interior pass rusher. However, there were a select few who saw something different. Renowned analysts like Greg Cosell and Dane Brugler admitted there were glimpses of dominance from Dexter from time to time. Both mentioned the same name when describing it.
Chris Jones.
The five-time Pro Bowler and three-time Super Bowl champion is likely headed for the Hall of Fame once he retires. He has 78.5 sacks in his career and is only 30 years old. Nobody argues he is one of the four or five best pass rushers in the NFL. So, being compared to him is kind of a big deal. The Bears were willing to gamble that Dexter could develop into that type of player. After lots of hard work and patience, their efforts came to fruition on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, where the defensive tackle had a sack, a recovered fumble, and four quarterback hits.
He was unblockable for much of the afternoon.
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Forget Gervon Dexter being good. He might be a star.
Going into this season, Bears fans were hoping the former 2nd round pick could become another Henry Melton. While never a centerpiece type of player, he knew his role in the defense and was a solid interior pass rusher during the later stages of Lovie Smith’s time in Chicago. However, as the weeks go on, it might be time to wonder if the Bears may have found their next Tommie Harris. People forget that prior to a series of knee injuries, the former 1st round pick was a terror from 2005 through 2007. Had he stayed healthy, he may have been in the same conversation as Warren Sapp.
Gervon Dexter now has four sacks in five weeks. He also has seven QB hits. The guy is getting into the backfield every single week. His current pace probably won’t last, but it is evident at this point that he is not the one-dimensional player experts pinned him as. It is another reminder that using how a player was used in college to make his pro projection is bad evaluation. The Bears saw somebody with limitless growth potential. Now, he’s rewarding that faith.
Currently, the stats show: Gervon Dexter Sr. (207 NFL snaps) 5 games DEF▪︎ RDEF ▪︎ TACK ▪︎ PRSH ▪︎ COV 68.1 ▪︎ 57.6 ▪︎ 51.1 ▪︎ 67.1 ▪︎ 65.1. 13.3% missed tackles; Gervon is ranked 23rd of 124 DI 15 Tot; 5 Sacks; 5 hits; 5 Hur; 0 Bat; 9 TFL; 4 Ast; 2 Misses; 9 Stops. Jalen Carter (199 NFL snaps) 4 games DEF▪︎ RDEF ▪︎ TACK ▪︎ PRSH ▪︎ COV 69.7 ▪︎ 54.3 ▪︎ 73.3 ▪︎ 84.9 ▪︎ 48.1. 0.0% missed tackles; Carter is ranked 20th of 124 DI 13 Tot; 0 Sacks; 3 hits; 10 Hur; 3… Read more »
Puts a smile on my face.
Gena has gone dark! Dexter showing up and showing out every week, and keeps topping himself every week. Can he keep up the pace?
One thing is for certain: He is far outplaying Jalen Carter. Their stats are not even close this year, let alone their overall impact to the game. Dexter has been the far more impactful player for his team.
Sally don’t know crap….wait crap IS what sally knows. Hey gena…now that Dexter has far outplayed the 9th pick Jalen Carter you got nothing. Your constant harping about Poles taking him to high is proven garbage. Not taking Carter, and getting an extra pick to not take him was brilliant. You soon won’t have anything to bitch about. Like I’ve said many times, when the winning starts, we will here less and less from gena and the twit twty. Now if we could just here less mumbo jumbo bla bla bla from sally all would be good.
@Byron: Pickens is hurt. And even if Pickens is average, or doesn’t pan out, Poles was playing the odds – pick enough players at a position, and the odds that one of them is good or great go up, simply because of the number of players. Do your due diligence on the players, and the odds get even better. Of course, even then it’s still a crap shoot. @Dr. Sallie: We don’t know what positions will have good value players available when the Bears are on the clock. Suppose there’s a very well regarded guard, expected to go mid first… Read more »