Bears get Florida DT Dexter, Miami CB Stevenson in NFL draft

Updated Apr. 29, 2023 12:21 a.m. ET

Associated Press

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears spent the second day of the NFL draft trying to fix their struggling defense. They added size and speed on the line and help in the secondary.

Above all else, general manager Ryan Poles insisted they ended the day in a better place.

The Bears took Florida tackle Gervon Dexter with the No. 53 pick and Miami cornerback Tyrique Stevenson three spots later after trading up with Jacksonville on Friday night. They added South Carolina defensive tackle Zacch Pickens with the first selection of the third round.

“Bigger, stronger, faster,” Poles said. “The cool thing is when the board plays out where the best available also hits some of our needs. That always gets you excited.”

The Bears turned their attention toward a defense that was one of the NFL's worst one night after going with Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright with the No. 10 overall pick and giving quarterback Justin Fields more protection. Chicago ranked 29th overall and 31st against the run last season. The Bears were also last in the NFL with 20 sacks — 50 fewer than the league-leading Philadelphia Eagles.

Though they didn't take an edge rusher in the first three rounds, Poles said the Bears are at least in a better position to pressure quarterbacks.

“I think we got better,” he said. “I think with this rotation of guys on the inside, to penetrate from the inside but also dip the pocket to create shorter edges on the outside for our D-ends should help them. We’re younger, more athletic, faster, close the burst is going to be much better. We’re heading in the right direction. I’m not sure. At the end of the day, this is on paper. We’ve got to see it in action and let it play out and we’ll go from there.”

The 6-foot-6, 310-pound Dexter started all 13 games in his third season with Florida last year and had 55 tackles and two sacks. One knock on Dexter is he is slow off the ball. But he has shown he is a quick study.

Dexter didn't play football until his junior year at Lake Wales High School in Florida. His focus was on basketball and he played on the same traveling team as 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes.

“On the basketball court, I was very aggressive so I was starting to foul out of a lot of games," Dexter said. "My physical appearance just didn’t kind of meet the requirements for a standard or power forward in the game of basketball. I gave football a try and it just came natural to me and I’ve been going since.”

Chicago moved up five spots to get Stevenson. The Bears also sent the No. 136 pick to Jacksonville.

Stevenson played two seasons at Georgia and in 2019 he broke up five passes. Frustrated with his role in one of college football's top programs, he transferred to Miami — his hometown team — in 2021 and was honorable mention All-ACC. He led the Hurricanes with seven pass breakups last season.

“Just the fact that me being naive and frustrated with how everything was unfolding at Georgia," he said. "Me being on the defense with great players who got drafted last year and are getting drafted now. Being around good players and not being able to contribute just caused a lot of frustration. And I decided to go back and help the fam after COVID hit, so all of that played a part into me deciding to leave my brothers at Georgia.”

Pickens, the 64th pick, had 42 tackles and broke up three passes in 12 starts for South Carolina last season. At 6-4 and 291 pounds, he has size and a quick first step that helps him stop the run.

“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.”

The Bears finished with the worst record in the league and set a franchise mark for losses while going 3-14 in their first season under general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus.

Poles pulled off a blockbuster trade for a play-making receiver in March when he acquired DJ Moore from Carolina. The Bears moved down eight spots and also got a haul of selections in return.

The Bears also had two picks each in the fourth (103, 133), one in the fifth (148) and two in the seventh (218, 258) rounds on Saturday. And Poles said they might get an edge rusher on the final day.

“There are some good players,” he said. “Obviously we’ll start the day off tomorrow and we’ve had some conversations. We’ll sleep on it because we’re all kind of gassed right now.”

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL