NFL veteran Grady Jarrett had barely been a Chicago Bears player for a few weeks when he began forming an opinion on defensive tackle Gervon Dexter.
It was Dexter who organized a meeting for defensive linemen to work out in Miami and included Jarrett, who technically would be competing for playing time at the same position. Jarrett was impressed once he got to know Dexter.
"You can see him and you can see the work he is putting in the weight room away from the facility," Jarrett said. "He was here (at Halas Hall) early. He spends extra time with coach.
"I think Year 3 is such a critical time where you could take that big leap. You play some football, you can get more comfortable and now you can know how to apply things and really take that big step. I'm excited to see what happened for him. I think our styles complement each other very well and I can't wait to continue to go hunt with the guy."
Whether this is true about Year 3 is open to interpretation. What is true about Year 3 is teams better see some kind of movement forward by then or the door can be open before Year 4 begins. The NFL stands for Not For Long and that time period doesn't really extend past Year 3 if a player fails to do anything to impress.
There isn't time to spend on such projects, or money.
The Bears have had Year 3 players take leaps, like Kyler Gordon last year. Jaquan Brisker appeared headed that way but then suffered his third concussion in three years.
For some, it's Year 4. Jaylon Johnson had been only 100th of 236 cornerbacks by Pro Football Focus grades but then stepped up to All-Pro level in Year 4.
The Bears could use some Year 3 magic. They have 14 players in Year 3 this year and only Darnell Wright has distinguished himself to any measure. Here are their Year 3 leaps ranked in order.
1. RB Roschon Johnson
Of all the players on the list, they could use a leap forward from him the most because they don't have someone on the roster who can provide power running to the same extent as he should be able to do. It might be they sign a veteran back and it would even put Johnson's job in jeopardy. Both he and the team need a Year 3 leap that and having it look apparent in OTAs would be a good first step to ward off external competition.
2. T Darnell Wright
Wright made his in Year 2, climbing up to 16th out of 140 tackles in Pro Football Focus grades last year, but there are still ways he can move ahead even more. He cut his penalties from 11 to eight and sacks allowed from eight to six. Tackles will tend to have high numbers of both but if he gets those even lower he might wind up as a tackle ranked in the top five or 10.
3. CB Tyrique Stevenson
He needs the leap forward more than the team might need it from him. There is competition from Zah Frazier and Terell Smith, so it would help his cause. Besides the Hail Mary pass allowed, he was fined twice for $27,800 from the NFL and was graded 134th out of 222 cornerbacks by Pro Football Focus, an improvement in rank of only six spots over his rookie year. He's supposed to be count press man-to-man coverage as a real strength and he'll get a chance to show it in this scheme.
4. DT Gervon Dexter
From the team's standpoint, he had pressure to take a step up reduced because they added three players who can play defensive tackle in Jarrett, Shemar Turner and also Dayo Odeyingbo, who can slide inside for pass rushing situations.
They'll also have Andrew Billings back from injury. It works two ways as he needs the step up because of the competition. Dexter already made a leap forward in PFF's eyes. He went from 144th out of 215 defensive tackles as a rookie to 28th out of 219 interior defenders last year. That's a huge move. He had ranked 187th against the run but moved up 131 spots. Still, being 56th against the run shows he can make big strides in an important area.
5. LB Noah Sewell
Considering Sewell's total lack of contribution on defense in the past, anything would be an improvement. The reason it's really needed is he is set to be Jack Sanborn's replacement as strongside now unless he loses the spot. Special teams have been his thing. Now it needs to be an expanded role.
6. CB Terell Smith
His job looks difficult. Although he has decent height at 6-foot and is 207 pounds, he hasn't broken through to take the starting spot from Stevenson even though he's had plenty of opportunities. His strength was said to be zone. Now they appear to be moving to more man coverage. They'll still used zone more than man-to-man coverage so he'll have a chance to play to his strength and take the spot from Stevenson.
7. WR Tyler Scott
The team doesn't need that big step up as much as he does. The competition at receiver for reps will be fierce. It's difficult to see how anyone in the sixth or seventh receiver spot could even make an impact with DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, Olamide Zacchaeaus and Devin Duvernay ahead of him. There's a hungry group pushing to move up as well. Scott needs a big advancement in skill set and production in preseason to show he even should get a roster spot.
8. DT Zacch Pickens
Like with Scott, Pickens needs a big leap forward more for himself than for the team's sake. He backslid in 2024. A high third-round pick, he was watching as a healthy scratch for two weeks on game day and played 36 fewer defensive snaps than as a rookie. With one tackle for loss and 1 1/2 sacks in two years, the Bears definitely need to see more. The addition of Shemar Turner is greasing his exit.
9. LB Daniel Hardy
The surprising experiment is underway for Hardy to be a linebacker, most likely strongside. They're going to look at this after he was an edge rusher all last year practicing with the defensive linemen. Frankly, he's too small to be an end in this scheme as coordinator Dennis Allen doesn't usually have edges lighter than 260 pounds and he is 240 pounds. A designated blitzer with some occasional coverage responsibilities look like targets, beyond continuing to excel at special teams.
10. QB Tyson Bagent
They want Bagent to progress in the background because if he's showing it in games then something is wrong. With Case Keenum on board now, Bagent needs to move forward in camp to remain No. 2. Plus he needs to learn from Keenum while Caleb Williams is busy playing
The Rest
DT Jonathan Ford, CB Ameer Speed, WR Samori Toure and G Jordan McFadden
For these four, proving they belong on the roster would be a colossal step ahead. Ford is a massive hunker-down type who may not fit the system but has the size to occupy centers and guards if they ask it of him. Speed is exactly as his name suggests as he was said to have run 4.33 seconds in a pro day 40. Like Ford, Toure is a former Packers practice squad player and he got into 22 Packers games with 13 catches for 160 yards and a TD. McFadden has an opportunity with guard backups being closely examined. He had 13 games and two starts with the Chargers so maybe the Bears find something here.
