Shemar Turner's personality was on full display from the first introductory Zoom press conference after he was drafted No. 62 overall by the Chicago Bears.
The Bears’ second-round draft pick from Texas A&M expressed the surreal feelings of being drafted and living out a dream with the goal to create a legacy for his family name. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive lineman also made it clear that he plays violently.
There are many sides to the Bears’ new rookie.
I spoke with Sean Spencer, Texas A&M's defensive line coach, to better understand Turner as a person and the football player who was added to Dennis Allen's defense.
Here are the top takeaways from our discussion.
The Alpha
Texas A&M had three players on their defensive line selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. Shemar Stewart went No. 17 overall to the Cincinnati Bengals. Nic Scourton was the second Aggie drafted when he went to the Carolina Panthers at 51st overall. Chicago took Turner 11 picks later in the second round.
Although Turner was the last of the three defensive linemen drafted, he stood out among a talented group of players.
“He was definitely the alpha in the room, you know what I mean,” Spencer said. “He was definitely the alpha in the room. All those guys had their own personalities. You know, he and Nic were definitely alphas, and obviously Shemar Stewart was an alpha, but you know, he also deferred to the older guys. … Everything worked well with that room, but all of the guys respect Shemar (Turner), everybody on the football team respects Shemar (Turner), everybody that ever played the game at Texas A&M respects Shemar (Turner), so he is definitely what I call an alpha.”
Calling Turner an alpha is one thing, but what exactly did Turner do throughout his time at Texas A&M to earn that recognition from his position coach?
“Ball is snapped in practice, I mean, he is going to run to the football like it's the last play of the game against Alabama,” Spencer said. “I mean, this is in practice. His intensity when he struck the sled in drills, you know, like the first time I got him on the sled, and he was striking the sled, it was with bad intentions. … He practiced that way, and it turned over to the game.”
Even in the few interactions the media has had with Turner, it's not surprising the rookie D-lineman carried himself in the way he did at Texas A&M. He will now be mixed into an interior defensive line room that features veterans Grady Jarrett and Andrew Billings and third-year pro Gervon Dexter.
Despite being the youngest in the group, it doesn't appear that Turner will have reservations when it comes to displaying his authentic personality.
The Student
Something that isn't as accessible to people outside of Texas A&M is how players conduct themselves during team meetings and while watching film.
Turner approached both with consistency, and Spencer first took notice of Turner's approach in the spring of 2024 when he wasn't able to get on the field to practice since he was rehabbing from injury.
“He was so in tune in the meetings,” Spencer said. “When we would put the install in, he was locked in, he was the first one. He sits in the front row. He sits in the front row of every meeting. … He sits in the front row of every meeting in the defensive line room and every meeting in the team room or the defensive unit meeting, and he just had this approach of intensity.”
Turner's willingness to sit in the front row didn't go unnoticed. Instead, it highlighted exactly the type of player Turner consistently showed.
“He has a cadence, right?” Spencer said. “That's what he's going to do, he's going to follow that cadence, just like a quarterback, just like anybody with a cadence, he's going to sit in the front row. The first thing that means to me is the guy wants to be attentive, wants to be engaged, he wants to be locked in. So that's really important. When guys go to the back of the room and they tuck away, they are kind of hiding. When you go in the front of the room, there is a chance you are going to get asked a question, and he's always prepared.”
That preparation was also on full display on the football field since Turner was asked to play everything from the 5 technique to a 3, 2i, and 0. Spencer understood he had a smart player who could handle the subtle nuances of playing all those positions.
Pro-Bowl Comparison
Turner and every single rookie will have one thing in common as they enter the NFL: they are far from a finished product. From the No. 1 overall pick in Cam Ward to Mr. Irrelevant, every rookie will have to show they can expand on their current skill set and develop in the pros.
In four seasons at Texas A&M, Turner only had 10 sacks and had a career high of six of them in 2023. Even though Turner doesn't have a large volume of sacks, Spencer believes he can be an effective pass rusher in the NFL.
Spencer mentioned he coached two players “that could win at a quick level” against a guard: Turner and two-time Pro Bowler Leonard Williams.
“They could change direction and go from the B gap to an A gap rush or from a, you know, stunt it, fake inside to go to the A gap, come back out to the B gap,” Spencer said. “The ability to win quickly, that's what he (Turner) has got to continue, cause he's got it in him, and that's what he, taking his game to the next level, that consistency of winning all the time. I'm just telling you, one-on-one in practice, they couldn't block him. It was like a clinic, you know what I mean? Like, oh my God, this is what it's supposed to look like. I had two guys who could win that quickly. I had Leonard Williams and I had him. I've never seen anybody else win that fast.”
Williams was drafted No. 6 overall out of USC in 2015. Since entering the league, Williams has secured 54.5 sacks in 10 seasons. If Turner can provide anything similar to that type of impact, general manager Ryan Poles will be applauded for selecting a difference maker on Day 2 of the draft.