Chicago Bears top position battles to watch: No. 4 defensive tackle

Bears training camp is less than a month away and all eyes will be on Chicago this summer. The Bears have the No. 1 overall draft pick in Caleb Williams, and they will be the featured team on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.”

It’s a good time to be a Bears fan.

Also taking center stage during camp, which begins July 19, will be the position battles heading into the 2024 season. The Bears added significant talent to the roster over the offseason, and that’s only going to make it harder for some players to win starting jobs.

This week, Shaw Local is ranking the top five position battles to watch during training camp. Here’s a look at No. 4 on the list. Check back each day this week for the next installment.

No. 4: Defensive Tackle

Returning players: Andrew Billings, Gervon Dexter, Zacch Pickens, Michael Dwumfour

Departed players: Justin Jones

Newcomers: Byron Cowart, Keith Randolph Jr., Dashaun Mallory

Why it’s worth watching: The 2024 season could be the coming out party for Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens, the two defensive tackles the Bears selected on Day 2 of the 2023 draft. The Bears drafted Dexter in the second round (53rd overall) and Pickens with the first pick of the third round (64th overall). It was a major investment in the interior of the defensive line.

In 2023, veteran Justin Jones was the starting “3-technique” defensive tackle. Of the two defensive tackles, the 3-technique is the more athletic and mobile. While Andrew Billings served as the space eater in the run game, Jones was expected to be more disruptive in the pass rush.

In March, Jones hit free agency and signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals. The Bears made no major additions to the position in free agency or the draft. They signed journeyman defensive tackle Byron Cowart, who spent last season on Miami’s practice squad. They also signed two undrafted free agents: Keith Randolph Jr. from Illinois and Dashaun Mallory from Arizona State.

It appears that Dexter and Pickens could see more snaps in 2024. Dexter, especially, looks poised to join the starting lineup. He played his best football during the final eight games of the 2023 season. He totaled nine of his 12 quarterback hits and all 2.5 of his sacks during the second half of the season.

Pickens, meanwhile, appeared in all 17 games last season but played fewer snaps than Dexter. Pickens played just under 25% of the defensive snaps. Dexter played 40% of defensive snaps on the season but was playing close to 50% during the second half of the year.

Also worth watching will be the battle for the fourth or fifth spots on the 53-man roster at defensive tackle. Randolph, the rookie from Illinois, could be a sleeper. He went undrafted when many draft analysts thought he’d be selected on Day 3 of the draft. If there’s any position on the roster that has enough spots available to accommodate an undrafted rookie, it might just be defensive tackle. Dwumfour was on the Bears’ practice squad last season and Cowart does have 36 games of NFL experience.