Chicago Bears Draft: Day 2 picks all have one major commonality

On Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft, Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears took a crystal-clear approach with all three of their picks.

To kick things off, Poles selected Florida defensive tackle Gervon Dexter with the 22nd pick in the second round. Three selections later, the Bears went with Miami cornerback Tyrique Stevenson.

With the first pick in the third round, Poles went defensive line again and selected South Carolina defensive tackle Zacch Pickens.

After taking time to digest the picks and dig in a little deeper, it’s pretty easy to see why Poles went the route he did. Rebuilding this defense from the ground-up is priority, but to do so the right way also requires elite traits that work within Chicago’s system.

Those traits are exactly what Poles found in Dexter, Stevenson and Pickens.

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles drafted for top-end physical traits on Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft

All three of these guys have some similarities within how they play the game, and each one should fall right into favor with head coach Matt Eberflus because of that fact.

Dexter, Stevenson and Pickens have combinations of size, speed and athleticism for their positions. They’re all physical players, most of all, and that’s an aspect that’s lacked within this defense for a while.

Just flash back over the past couple of years and take a look at how poor the Bears have been at finishing tackles, stopping the run and establishing any semblance physical dominance.

Dexter stands 6-foot-6, weighing 310 pounds, so for an interior lineman, this man is an absolute tank. He only started playing football as a junior in high school, which is something to take into account when looking at his production at Florida.

This guy is still growing, still learning and developing, and Poles saw his combination of size, NFL-ready frame and athleticism and figured he’d fit well.

Stevenson, meanwhile, is six feet tall with great length at the position. He’s a physical cornerback. He’s scrappy. He has the size and athletic traits to match up with those bigger receivers on the outside, which Kindle Vildor has struggled with at times.

The Bears got a sure fire starting cornerback to pair with Jaylon Johnson, who is also a physical corner himself.

Then, you have Pickens, who is even quicker for a defensive lineman, standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 291 pounds. Pickens has a real fast first step and gets off the line quickly. He has excellent footwork, too.

All three of these picks have the physical traits Poles and Eberflus are looking for. Taking numbers and throwing them aside, for a moment, isn’t something we always like to do. But, Poles is doing things his way. He’s trying to find guys who fit this scheme and have the athletic ability to get even better at the NFL level.

That’s exactly what he got in these three picks.