2025 Chicago Bears Season Preview: Defense and Special Teams

The crown jewel of the defense. [Photo: Jaylon Johnson on Instagram]

Defensive line

They are:

EDGE #98 Montez Sweat, 7th year, Mississippi State
EDGE #55 Dayo Odeyingbo, 5th year, Vanderbilt
EDGE #94 Austin Booker, 2nd year, Kansas
EDGE #90 Dominique Robinson, 4th year, Miami (OH)
EDGE #92 Daniel Hardy, 3rd year, Montana State
DI #97 Andrew Billings, 9th year, Baylor
DI #99 Gervon Dexter, 3rd year, Florida
DI #50 Grady Jarrett, 11th year, Clemson
DI #91 Chris Williams, 4th year, Wagner
DI #95 Shemar Turner, Rookie, Texas A&M

The defensive line was a problem for the Bears a year ago. They struggled to pressure opposing QBs with four. After Billings went down, the run defense took a major hit. The interior got beefed up in a pretty big way when the Bears picked up veteran Grady Jarrett. Jarrett spent 10 years in Atlanta where he was stronger as a tackle than as an end. He figures to slot in as a 3-tech for the Bears, where he’ll hopefully add some pass rush from the interior. 

Ryan Poles opened up the checkbook on the edge as well, bringing Dayo Odeyingbo over from Indianapolis. Odeyingbo put up 8 sacks, a career high, in 2023 and was rewarded with a full-time starting job in 2024. He followed up that strong 2023 by amassing a whopping 3 sacks last year. Ryan Poles saw a guy going into his age 26 season who had shown nice production in the past and pulled the trigger. That part makes sense. What does not make sense is the contract he gave Odeyingbo: 3 years, $48 million, a flat-out ridiculous overpay. It is worth noting that, as I write this, Za’Darius Smith is still a free agent. Trey Hendrickson had a very public dispute with the Bengals. Did Poles swing a trade? Nope. Micah Parsons had an even bigger public dispute with the Cowboys. Did Poles go for it like Ryan Pace did when he acquired Khalil Mack from the Raiders, which took the Bears defense to a whole other level, turning them into one of the best units of the last 3 decades per DVOA? Of course not. What’s more, Parsons ended up in Green Bay, so twice a year, he will go up against the other major position of need that Poles didn’t bother to fix. Fun! By this point, you should be fully aware that this defensive preview is going to be a lot less fun than the offensive one. 

Anyway, in 2023, Poles actually did swing a trade, bringing in Montez Sweat from Washington. Sweat put up 6 sacks for the Bears in 9 games in 2023 and wound up leading both Chicago and Washington in sacks that season. Last year, in his first full season as a Bear, Sweat almost got to 6 again. If you read that sentence and went “gee, it doesn’t seem good that your big money edge rusher had fewer sacks in 16 games than he did in 9 the year before,” you’re right! This was clear to everyone except Ryan Poles, who thought the solution to this conundrum was to give big money to another guy coming off a lousy season. 

But wait! There is hope on the horizon! After a rookie campaign where he might as well have had a flashing neon sign above his head that read “run it here and win a free five yards” without anywhere near enough pass rush success to justify playing time given such ineptitude against the run, Austin Booker was tearing it up in the preseason. So, of course, he got hurt and will miss the beginning of the season. I remind you, Za’Darius Smith is still available. 

Dominique Robinson and his two career sacks in three years are still here. I don’t know why. Daniel Hardy and his zero career sacks also return. Hardy looked okay in the preseason, which isn’t a good reason for him to make the 53, but it’s better than any justification for Robinson. I get that Robinson is a former wide receiver and he was a QB before that, but he’s been playing defensive end since his senior year of college. I could get behind keeping him if there was even some semblance of development, but there just hasn’t been any. 

There were rumblings during the offseason that Gervon Dexter might end up on the edge. I don’t know how serious any of it ever was, but he appears to be firmly in the interior. The addition of Grady Jarrett means Dexter could see time at both 3T and 1T in different packages. The third-year man out of Florida is easily the most exciting part of this year’s defensive line. While you may think that’s faint praise given the general tone of the rest of this section, I assure you that it’s legit. Dexter took a noticeable step a year ago and this space predicts another one this year. 

Andrew Billings returns to be a stout presence in the middle. While he’s not much of a pass rusher, Billings has been a real difference maker for the run defense since he signed with the Bears before the 2023 season.

Rookie Shemar Turner missed a chunk of camp with an ankle injury. This was after surgery earlier this year for a stress fracture in his leg that never fully healed. So not a great start, there. But there is some real upside with Turner, who may have been a first-round pick were he not hampered by the aforementioned stress fracture in 2024. While he may need some time to acclimate to the NFL, this space predicts that Turner will be a real part of the rotation by Thanksgiving. While Chris Williams is capable, and did have 3 sacks last year, the upside with Turner is much higher. 

Feel good about: Gervon Dexter could become a legit star this year. 

Worry about: The one proven player on the edge is coming off the worst year of his career and while the interior looks good, two of the three top players are 30+.

Confidence level: 2.5

Linebacker 

They are:

#49 Tremaine Edmunds, 8th year, Virginia Tech
#53 TJ Edwards, 7th year, Wisconsin
#44 Noah Sewell, 3nd year, Oregon
#47 Ruben Hyppolite II, Rookie, Maryland
#48 D’Marco Jackson, 3rd year, Appalachian State

Linebacker is something of a wildcard for the Bears in 2025. Tremaine Edmunds and TJ Edwards both had strong 2023 seasons and then took steps backward last year. Edwards, in particular, looked to have lost a step, especially when in pass coverage. For Edmunds, it was the run defense that left us wanting more, occasionally taking a bad angle or just getting blocked out of a play. Edwards got a 2-year, $20 million extension in the offseason. So there’s that. This is your reminder that Roquan Smith, one of the linebackers in the game, used to play here. He no longer does, thanks to another Ryan Poles big brain decision. The hope here is that a new coaching staff can revitalize Edmunds and Edwards. In 2023, Edwards racked up 155 tackles and a career-high 3 picks. Edmunds totaled 113 tackles with a career-high 4 picks, one of which he ran back for a touchdown. If the new staff can bring back the 2023 versions of these guys, the Bears have one of the top linebacker duos in the league. If not, they’ll likely be hunting for linebackers in the 2026 draft. 

Jack Sanborn followed noted fashionista and timeout hoarder Matt Eberflus to Dallas in the offseason, so Noah Sewell takes over as the third linebacker. Dennis Allen spends a lot of time in nickel and dime, even relative to the league today, so expect fewer 3 LB packages than we saw under Haircut Jones. This space asserts that Sewell will be at least as good as Sanborn and likely even better, given Sewell’s superior athleticism. 

Speaking of athleticism, Ruben Hyppolite is here after being drafted in the 4th round of the 2025 draft, which was quite a surprise at the time. The staff was a big fan of his and believes there’s major upside there. His preseason was just kind of meh. We’ll see. Don’t expect much from him this year. 

Feel good about: While 2024 was a step backwards for both Edmunds and Edwards, they were both still pretty good.

Worry about: Potential continued decline from two guys whose contracts now make that Roquan Smith trade look extra bad. 

Confidence level: 6

Defensive back

They are:

CB #1 Jaylon Johnson, 6th year, Utah
CB #29 Tyrique Stevenson, 3rd year, Miami
CB #6 Kyler Gordon, 4th year, Washington
CB #32 Terell Smith, 3rd year, Minnesota (IR)
CB #25 Nahson Wright, 5th year, Oregon State
CB #39 Josh Blackwell, 4th year, Duke
CB #21 Jaylon Jones, 4th year, Mississippi
CB #24 Nick McCloud, 5th year, Notre Dame
S #31 Kevin Byard, 10th year, Middle Tennessee State
S #9 Jaquan Brisker, 4th year, Penn State
S #22 Elijah Hicks, 4th year, California
S #36 Jonathan Owens, 7th year, Missouri Western

The strength of the defense, the Bears return all the starters from last year’s secondary. Jaylon Johnson has turned into one of the top corners in the game today and he’ll be counted on to take on opposing teams’ top receiver. Having a guy who can handle that responsibility is big in today’s game and doubly so when there are as many questions about the pass rush as the Bears have. Now in his 6th year out of Utah, Johnson was a part of one of the truly great moves by Ryan Poles when he extended Johnson before the corner market blew up. See, I’m a fair man. 

Opposite Johnson is Tyrique Stevenson, who, were it left up to your author, would’ve been cut and told to find his own way home immediately at the conclusion of the Washington game last year. The Bears make another trip to FedEx Field this year; we’ll see if he can face the correct direction for the entirety of the game this time. When he does, he’s shown flashes of brilliance. He’s also shown more blown assignments and penalties than I would like. Your author would’ve liked to look to upgrade this offseason, but you can only do so much in one offseason and there were much more glaring concerns that didn’t get addressed. This was a pretty low priority – Stevenson is at least fine. Terrell Smith could’ve contended for the starting job and certainly would’ve gotten a handful of snaps even if he didn’t win it, but unfortunately, he got hurt during the preseason and is out for the year. 

Nahshon Wright is a new addition for 2025. A tall, long corner at 6’4, Wright spent last year in Minnesota after 3 years with the Cowboys. Wright had his moments during the preseason and figures to be at least serviceable if needed, but he is a legitimate downgrade from Smith in terms of depth. Josh Blackwell is predominantly a factor on special teams, but is at least not a liability when called upon on defense. Jaylon Jones and Nick McCloud provide additional depth, but if it gets down to either of them, the Bears are in serious trouble. 

Kyler Gordon has developed into a very good nickel and Dennis Allen should have a lot of fun coming up with ways to deploy him. Gordon is strong in pass coverage, but what is particularly impressive about him is his ability in the run game. Gordon has great instincts and routinely finds himself in position to make plays. When presented with the opportunity, he’s unafraid to lay the wood. 

Kevin Byard was an excellent pickup a year ago, showing that while he may be getting up there in years, he’s still got plenty left. While he’s generally more of a coverage guy, we’ve seen him make plays as a blitzer, most notably in last year’s season finale in Green Bay. His counterpart is the oft-injured Jaquan Brisker, who appeared to be upset that he wasn’t extended this summer. While Brisker is a strong player when he’s on the field, he just hasn’t been on the field enough to justify an extension so far. Thus, this becomes a “prove it” year for Brisker. If he can stay healthy, his play should earn him a nice payday. 

Free safety Elijah Hicks returns after starting 7 games a year ago. He’s started at least half a dozen games each of the last two years and has generally been solid when doing so. While hopefully, he won’t be needed to start this year, he figures to see plenty of action in Dennis Allen’s nickel and dime packages. Also in line for some of that work is Jonathan Owens, who could be bothered to actually be around for all of training camp this year. Yeah, I know, his wife was in the Olympics last year. Fantastic. Listen, I’d give 20 years off my life and a testicle to be a Chicago Bear. Given that chance, I’m not going to Paris for any reason during camp. That’s all I’m saying. Anyway, when on the field last year, Owens had his moments, but mostly was just fine. 

Feel good about: The tools Dennis Allen has at his disposal. Allen runs a good amount of nickel and dime packages where he brings an extra safety onto the field instead of an extra corner. Gordon can play outside in those situations and both Hicks and Owens have proven to be at least serviceable. 

Worry about: Health. Jaquan Brisker couldn’t stay on the field last year, Jaylon Johnson missed all of the preseason, and Terell Smith is already out for the season. 

Confidence level: 8.5

Special teams

They are:

K #8 Cairo Santos, 12th year, Tulane
P #19 Tory Taylor, 2nd year, Iowa
LS #46 Scott Daly, 5th year, Notre Dame

There is a discussion to be had about moving on from Cairo Santos. Kickers in the NFL today are hitting kicks in the mid-50s pretty routinely. 60 isn’t even the daunting task it once was. Santos doesn’t have the leg a lot of those guys do. But the kicks he’s got the leg for, he makes. And that is no small feat in Chicago. The stadium’s location right on the lake means difficult kicking conditions abound. Santos’s skill in handling those conditions shouldn’t be taken for granted, and, indeed, it wasn’t. Thus, Santos remains. The kicking woes of the not-too-distant past remain fresh enough in everyone’s minds that I don’t think you’re going to find too many people upset about a guy who can hit the ones he needs to hit, but just isn’t going to be able to hit one from 60.

Tory Taylor was drafted in the fourth round a year ago out of Iowa, where he got plenty of work. Unfortunately, he also got plenty of work here last year. Fortunately, when he was needed, he was usually really good. Hopefully, he’s needed far less this year. 

Scott Daly returns as the long snapper. Look for Devin Duvernay and Josh Blackwell to return kicks. 

Feel good about: Santos is a near certainty from inside 40.

Worry about: Cairo’s leg strength, particularly in those outdoor games in November and December. 

Confidence level: 9

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