The Chicago Bears drafted defensive tackles Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens on Day 2 of the 2023 NFL draft, with the hope that they’ll develop into long-term starters. Safe to say, Dexter and Pickens will be linked as their NFL careers get underway.
But before Dexter and Pickens became teammates in Chicago, they were flying together to visit teams, so they got to know each other during the pre-draft process. In fact, Pickens always had an inkling that they’d wind up as teammates at the NFL level.
“We were always together,” Pickens said, “so I was like, ‘I feel like we’re going to be together [in the NFL].’ Then what do you know, the Bears drafted him, then they drafted me. I was like, ‘We’re going to have fun with this.’ I texted him, ‘We’ve just got to take over, do ourselves right, and we could easily be the dynamic duo.'”
Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams sees a lot of similarities between Dexter and Pickens, not only the physical traits (“big” and “fast”) but their mental acumen (“super intelligent and attentive”).
“They’re big, they’re athletic, they’re smart, they love ball,” Williams said. “Everyone that plays in the NFL doesn’t love ball. They do. They’re athletic. They stay on their feet.”
While Dexter and Pickens will start their rookie season behind Justin Jones and Andrew Billings on the depth chart, they have the potential to challenge for additional reps in the defensive line rotation. Perhaps we could see them emerge as starters down the stretch.
