Why Bears made big bet on Dexter, Pickens on Day 2 of draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Former Las Vegas Raiders general manager Mike Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden operated by a simple philosophy in the NFL draft: Every pick you have in the first three rounds should be a Day 1 starter/contributor.
The Mayock-Gruden Raiders didn't do a great job following their own advice, but the principle was sound.
General manager Ryan Poles and the Bears aced their first-round pick Thursday when they drafted Tennessee tackle Darnell Wright. Wright is a 6-foot-5, 330-pound bulldozer who will immediately start at right tackle.
Poles' job on Day 2 was to bolster the Bears' defense with players who can provide meaningful snaps come Week 1 this fall.
The Bears did go all defense on Day 2, drafting Florida defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr., Miami cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, and South Carolina defensive tackle Zacch Pickens.
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But where Wright was a dominant force during his final season in college, Dexter and Pickens will arrive in Chicago as Day 1 contributors in concept. Both defensive tackles have elite physical traits. Size, speed, power, explosion. They've got it all.
However, those God-given traits didn't translate to consistent, game-wrecking production at the college level.
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Last season at Florida, the 6-foot-6, 310-pound Dexter recorded just two sacks and 25 total pressures. For a defensive tackle built in a lap to wreak havoc, Dexter's numbers just didn't add up for the Gators.
Despite that lack of production, the Bears used their first second-round pick (No. 53 overall) on the high-ceiling Florida defensive tackle, who only started playing football as a high school junior.
They believe their defense will allow Dexter to become a more consistent, productive football player.
“If you go all the way back to his freshman year, he was raw," Pole said Friday night of Dexter. "He was a basketball player that started playing football just a couple years ago, so if you go back and watch his freshman tape, he’s out there just kind of throwing people around. He doesn’t really feel pressure yet and understand block recognition and all that.
"And then the next year it gets even better in terms of the feel, and then this year, it got even better. The other thing we look at, too, is the play time for these big guys. You know, when they start hitting in the 60, 70 percent, it’s hard to be full throttle all the time, so you’re going to see some up and down, so that’s where that whole grading the flashes kind of comes from because at this level, you’d like to get a nice little rotation with those guys so they stay fresh and explosive.”
Pickens arguably has more "flashes" on tape than Dexter. The 6-foot-4, 291-pound tackle is an athletic interior lineman who is best at using his quickness to shoot through gaps and attack upfield. On paper, Pickens is everything the Bears want in a disruptive, chaos-creating three-technique.
But like Dexter, Pickens didn't consistently dominate in college. Per PFF, Pickens had just eight sacks and 33 pressures during his final two seasons in Columbia.
The Bears understand that Dexter and Pickens are raw balls of clay for them to mold. They were high on the Bears' draft board because of their elite traits and pedigree as five-star recruits. Poles' belief is that the "cream will rise to the top" more often than not.
It's better to bet on the unreachable traits than someone who doesn't athletically fit the needs of the modern NFL game.
"You know what’s interesting? One of the first projects I had way back in the day was for Dontari Poe," Poles said of evaluating low-production guys like Pickens and Dexter. "I think he had two sacks, and we were contemplating taking him at 9 or 10. And just did a study and watched all the plays, really trying to see how did he affect the game, punching the pocket, eating up two blocks while other guys can run free.
"Like I say, there’s a level of multiplier where they can help other people as well, free other individuals up to make plays. Those guys have those pieces. And then the other thing is just coming up through the ranks, grade the flashes. Grade the flashes."
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Pickens and Dexter know that their best football must be ahead of them. Pickens promised to hit the ground running, shore up his technique, and become a dominating force the Bears had in mind when using the No. 64 overall pick on him.
"I can be one of the greatest if I check all my boxes," Pickens said. "If I do everything right, and I know I will, I can be one of the greats. And I’m not holding that back. I’m so for real. If I check all the boxes, and when I do check all the boxes, I promise you I’m going to be the best defensive interior tackle. And that’s exactly what I’m going to bring. My best each and every day."
The Bears' decision to select two defensive tackles on Day 2 made sense. Without a pick between 10 and 53, the Bears watched the edge rushers fly off the board before they went on the clock.
Dexter and Pickens were high on the Bears' board, so Poles decided to rebuild the defensive line from the interior. He believes that adding two explosive disruptors to the interior will make life easier on a thin edge group and the Bears' expensive new linebacking corps.
"You get those big guys inside to really be in the heavy rotation with [Andrew] Billings and Justin [Jones], who will be really good leaders for those guys too, be able to show them the way," Poles said. "In this league, in terms of the defensive line, you’ve got to have really two waves. So we’ve been able to start that inside. They’re multipliers. They punch the pocket, they dent the pocket. That makes it a shorter edge for the outside guys. In the run game, they’re tougher to move. That allows your linebackers to flow and run even better."
Stevenson, the Bears' other Day 2 pick, should start immediately at outside corner opposite Jaylon Johnson.
But it's the best on Pickens and Dexter that could determine the overall success of this draft class.
If they blossom in the way Poles foresees, the Bears could have the start of something special on the defensive line.
A bet on traits and potential is often a winning one in the NFL draft. But it's still a gamble, nonetheless.
