Gervon Dexter Sr. had a career year last season for the Bears as he tallied up 6 victims on his table. Six quarterbacks he sacked playing on the Bears defensive line. In 2023’s NFL draft, the Bears selected defensive lineman Dexter Sr. in the second round 53rd overall from Florida University. Last year Dexter was in his 3rd season with the Bears and heading into his last season under his rookie contract, when he was traded to the Atlanta Falcons. The 24 year old defensive lineman netted the Bears in return a 5th round draft pick and a piece for their secondary in Clark Phillips III, who is a corner back. Ben Johnson and the Bears coaching staff think they have a beast for Dexter Sr.’s replacement which is rookie defensive line man Jordan van den Berg who is native of South Africa and played his college ball at Georgia Tech. The Bears head coach describes van den Berg as a beast. Did the Bears make the right decision on this trade? One of the criticisms was the Bears defense lacked guys able to kill the quarterback. Dexter Sr. was coming off a career year.

The Atlanta Falcons were relying on 8 year veteran defensive end 30 year old Da’Shawn Hand who played for the Chargers last year. Hand is a former Detroit Lion who suffered a leg injury in preseason. The Falcons revamped their d-line this off season with their new general manager Ian Cunningham, who was actually the Bears assistant general manager last season. He was a part of the front office when the Bears drafted Gervon Dexter Sr. back in 2023. The Falcons are getting a big physical presence to their defensive lineman who is playing for a contract next year and playing for a multi year deal if he continues to improve his game every year. He however has suffered a hamstring injury last Tuesday and did not travel with the team for their joint practices with the Titans in Tennessee. He obviously missed the preseason finale with the Titans as well. In three seasons, Dexter Sr. has racked up 13.5 table victims on quarterbacks. Which is 13.5 total sacks. His rookie year he tallied 2.5 sacks. In 2024 he tallied 5 sacks. Then six last year. Dexter Sr. has way more sacks then the guy he is replacing, Hand, who has 6.5 in his entire 8 year career. The Falcons in this deal have an upgrade.

Jordan van cen Berg is a massive man weighting 310 lbs and standing at 6’3″. He was drafted in the 6th round by the Chicago Bears in the 2026 NFL draft and he is 24 years of age. He was born in South Africa. He played for three different colleges starting with smaller school, Iowa Western, then moved on to Penn State, and concluded his college career with Georgia Tech. The Bears liked what they have seen in preseason to make this deal by trading Gervon Dexter Sr. Actually Dexter Sr. is bigger than van den Berg as he weighs 326 1bs and stands at 6’6″. The Bears are going smaller, but they think van den Berg will make an impact right away. Last year for the Yellow Jackets he was one of the leading defenders in the conference with 11 tackles for loss of yards. Last year he was the first All-ACC selection. In 2024 he was second team in All-ACC selection. He has shown his dominating skills with the Bears offensive line in all the practices. He has shown he can move bodies up front, has speed, and plenty of athleticism. They love his strength. The Bears think he can pick up the slack or play better than the guy they just traded away. Being called a beast by your head coach is a compliment for any football player working in the trenches.

What will the Bears be getting in cornerback Clark Phillips III? He also is 24 years of age. He was also drafted in the 2023 NFL draft in the 4th round by the Falcons from Utah University. He will provide the Bears with some depth to their secondary. Especially the Bears have some injuries at the position. He is young and could be a rotational piece for the Bears defense. He has played in 28 games and made 7 starts in his career. Last year Clark missed most of the year with a triceps injury. In 2024 he had 1 interception with two forced fumbles and fumble recovery. He defended 5 passes. He racked up 50 solo tackles in three seasons in the NFL. This trade is a gamble on the Bears part. You’re banking on a rookie to replace a veteran who had success playing the position. You get some draft capital out of the deal that could get you a future piece for a rainy day. The corner back you are getting back is questionable. Will he be able to deliver this Bears defense with any kind of success? Dennis Allen. the Bears defensive coach, has had success being a defensive coordinator. The Bears defense were very good at getting takeaways last year. That was really the only thing they did well. The Bears have made multiple changes on that side of the ball this off season. Which they are hoping these moves pan out. The Bears offense can deliver the goods. It will be a tougher schedule for the Bears since they went deep into post-season last year. They need that defense to catch up to the offense. This is a trade they are rolling the dice on. Everything Bears head coach Ben Johnson has touched since taking the job in Chicago has turned into gold. We will see if this move will be golden which we will find out very soon.