10 questions emerging from the Chicago Bears win over the Washington Commanders

5. Is Gervon Dexter seperating from Zacch Pickens as the top Chicago Bears rookie defensive lineman?

Thursday was the best game for a lot of Chicago Bears, but one player in particular was Gervon Dexter. Dexter played 33 snaps and had six pressures, per PFF. He was one of their highest-graded players. This is notable because after playing 33 snaps in week two, Dexter played just 36 snaps in the following two games combined.

The Bears promised he would play more this week, and we saw that come to fruition. It is interesting to note because the same cannot be said for Zacch Pickens. Pickens played 14 snaps, which is more than the nine he played in week four, but it was not much compared to Dexter.

A lot of this comes down to the pass-rushing upside. Dexter is a pass rusher with more juice, and Pickens is better against the run. The Bears got a lead, so Dexter was cutting into snaps of Andrew Billings, the Bears' best run defender.

Still, it is clear who is the better defender of these two. Pickens was drafted later because he did not have the ceiling of Dexter. Dexter has not reached his ceiling, but he is already better than Pickens, which is good to say for the player who was supposed to take longer to develop.