Chicago Bears fans have spent the entire offseason so far demanding improvements in the trenches, and GM Ryan Poles has delivered in spades just one day into the legal tampering period. After agreeing to terms with center Drew Dalman, a blockbuster deal that was announced early in the tampering period, Poles took two big swings on the defensive line, signing former Colts defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo and former Falcon defensive tackle Grady Jarrett.
While neither Odeyingbo nor Jarrett are considered elite players, they both bring a positive impact to the table. For Jarrett, that’s the reliable presence of a locker room leader with ten years of experience, including a Super Bowl appearance.
And while Odeyingbo hasn’t exactly stuffed the stat sheet since being drafted in 2021, he’s shown tremendous improvement over the last two years and is a popular pick for a ‘breakout candidate’ in 2025.
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Chicago’s defensive line was still playing reasonably well until Andrew Billings was lost for the season with a pec injury. The Bears’ run defense crumbled from that point forward and, as a result, other teams found greater success through the air, as well.
They can’t allow that to happen in 2025. The depth must be better, and it’s well on its way to being better. A three-man rotation of Billings, Jarrett, and third-year player Gervon Dexter on the interior of the line is going to be tough for most opponents to stop.
Meanwhile, on the edges, Montez Sweat returns and will have Odeyingbo on the other side of him, helping take some pressure off the 2023 Pro Bowler.
Further down the depth chart is sophomore defensive end Austin Booker and Daniel Hardy, who received an Exclusive Rights Free Agent (ERFA) tender from the team last week. On the interior, that second-string figures to be Dexter and Chris Williams, who was tendered with a ‘right-of-first-refusal’.
While no one will mistake this Bears’ defensive line for Pittsburgh’s Steel Curtain, the depth is impressive, and we haven’t even reached the draft yet.
