As the Chicago Bears look to build on a breakout 2025 that included an NFC North title and a trip to the divisional round of the playoffs, one area they must improve is along the defensive line.
An opportunistic secondary helped mask some of the issues, but a lackluster pass rush and run defense that allowed an average of five yards per carry could sink the Bears as fast as they rose.
Chicago's defensive line will be a determining factor in what the team does for an encore this fall. With that in mind, we project the Bears' starting front four a month into free agency.
Defensive End 1 - Montez Sweat
Sweat, who turns 30 on the first Friday of September, is coming off a productive 2025 in which he recorded 10 sacks while starting all 17 games for the Bears. Originally acquired in a 2023 trade deadline deal with the Washington Commanders, the 2019 first-rounder (No. 26 overall) has been a steady presence along Chicago's defensive line ever since, including playing a career-high 780 defensive snaps last season. Sweat has 21.5 sacks over 42 games with the team, which is tied for the ninth-most among defensive linemen during that span, per Stathead.
The Bears haven't added at the position in free agency, making Sweat the team's clear-cut top edge defender. Even if Chicago addresses defensive end with its first-round pick (No. 25), Sweat's status atop the depth chart is likely to go unchallenged heading into the regular season.
Defensive Tackle 1 - Gervon Dexter Sr.
A 2023 second-round selection, Dexter, 24, had his best NFL season yet in 2025, starting all 17 games and tallying six sacks and two fumble recoveries. Entering Week 17, NFL Pro Insights noted his 11.8 percent pressure rate was the sixth-highest among defensive tackles with 200 or more pass rush attempts.
In February, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported that "teams have inquired" about Dexter's availability via trade. However, with no deal materializing in the nearly two months since, he could easily be part of the organization's immediate future, even as a pending unrestricted free agent in 2027. Without a long-term contract, though, his status will be worth monitoring, particularly as the draft rapidly approaches. That could be an opportune time to pull the trigger on a trade. But until then, the ascending defensive tackle has a home as a Bears starter.
Defensive End 2 - Austin Booker
Chicago's offseason moves reveal its belief in Booker, who missed the first eight games of the 2025 season after suffering a knee injury in Week 2 of the preseason.
Overall, the Bears' pass rush struggled last year, finishing the season No. 22 in pressure rate (21.1 percent) and tied for No. 22 in sacks (35). Booker, though, had solid production upon his return in November, tallying 4.5 sacks and 31 total pressures while starting nine games.
His role as a starter is far from guaranteed, but with fellow defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo, who signed a three-year, $48M (including $13M guaranteed in 2026) free-agent contract last offseason, rehabbing from a torn Achilles suffered on Nov. 2, 2025, Booker is the most viable option to open the season as the starting defensive end.
Defensive Tackle 2 - Neville Gallimore
The second defensive tackle spot could be one of Chicago's more contentious position battles through training camp and the preseason. Veteran Grady Jarrett, who turns 33 on Apr. 28, signed a three-year, $42.75M contract last offseason but underwhelmed in his first year with the Bears, ending 2025 with 1.5 sacks while appearing in 14 games with only four starts, his fewest since his 2015 rookie season. Andrew Billings, who appeared in all 17 games (14 starts) last season, signed with the Arizona Cardinals as an unrestricted free agent.
The Bears formed a contingency plan in case Jarrett fails to take ownership of the starting job, signing Gallimore (two years, $10M) and Kentavius Street (one year, $1.48M) last month. Of the two, Gallimore, 29, has more upside after starting eight games for the Indianapolis Colts in 2025 and finishing the season with 3.5 sacks. Street, entering his eighth NFL season, has been more of a rotational lineman throughout his career, including his lone previous season under Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen in 2022, when Allen was head coach of the New Orleans Saints.