This offseason, there has been one position group the Chicago Bears fan base has been screaming for the team to improve, and the team decided not to add as much talent as expected: the defensive line.
There are some new faces like Neville Gallimore, Kentavius Street, James Lynch, and rookie Jordan van den Berg, but they were not enough to excite the fans. Grady Jarrett, Gervon Dexter, and Shemar Turner are all back, hoping to make big contributions in 2026.
Looking at the edge rusher position, this was the one group that got the least attention, which really needed more help. Montez Sweat is the star of the group, and Austin Booker is emerging as a good pass rusher, but Bears fans wanted another elite edge rusher added to help out, which means now it falls on the coaching staff to make it work with what they have now.
Bears have big goals that must be achieved with defensive line
While speaking with the media, Bears defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett shared that the coaching staff set goals for the group to achieve in 2026.
"The three main goals for the guys," Garrett said via Bears Insider. "Number one, we got to attack the line of scrimmage better. We got to be more disruptive to create TFLs, create more opportunities for drop-back passer we can go rush. And then two, we talk about being more consistent, so you can see flashes of good play, but we want to see consistent. If you can do it once, you can do it again. So, we want to see more consistency within the guys, and then we want to affect the quarterback. Pressures, hits, batted balls, anywhere to affect the quarterback."
Last season, the Bears had only 33 sacks as a team, with only six NFL franchises having fewer. Sweat led the team with 10, and Dexter was second with six.
Chicago has to get more production from their edge rushers, which is why it was a massive disappointment from the fans that the Bears did not address that need in the offseason. They are now leaning on Booker and Dayo Odeyingbo to step up and be the guys the team needs them to be.
Read more: Bears' $6.4 million disappearing act might not be for long in 2026
This is going to be a big year for the Bears' defensive line, because if things don't improve, there will be massive changes at the trade deadline and in the offseason to fix it.
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