Gervon Dexter Had Something To Say About The Jalen Carter Debate
Jalen Carter will head to his first Pro Bowl this year after a strong second season with the Philadelphia Eagles. Many Chicago Bears fans have lamented the fact that their team wasn’t willing to take a chance on the Georgia standout when they had the chance. Instead, they traded down and took Darnell Wright instead. The feeling is the Bears gave up a great player for a good one. However, that isn’t taking in the entire picture. People forget the team addressed defensive tackle a day late in the 2nd round when they took Gervon Dexter out of Florida.
As it turns out, that may have been a much bigger steal. Dexter finished with five sacks and 19 quarterback hits this season. Carter had 4.5 and 16, respectively. Brandon Thorn, one of the most respected trench analysts in the business, revealed his chart for which players had the best snap-to-high-quality pressure rate. Carter sat at one every 24.2 snaps. Dexter? He’s at 22.5.
The Bears defensive tackle appeared to have something to say about this revelation. He didn’t express it in words, but the intent wasn’t hard to discern.
Gervon Dexter is right to have beef with the narratives.
Carter is a really good player. His impact on the Eagles’ defense was impossible to miss this season. Yet, to offer this idea that Dexter was invisible is ludicrous. Carter had 53 total pressures this season. Dexter had 39. However, Carter played 541 pass rush snaps. Dexter only had 356. Carter also committed four penalties. Dexter had zero. Not convinced? Carter had a run defense grade of 59.0 from Pro Football Focus. Dexter’s was 61.1. There isn’t a single metric out there that conveys the Eagles’ standout is better than Chicago’s.
The key difference is simple: Philadelphia won more games this season. It’s much easier to credit a guy for his work when the team is winning. If the Bears went 14-3 this season, there is no doubt Gervon Dexter would be getting the love he rightfully deserves. Alas, that is how professional sports work. Individual standouts on bad teams rarely get any credit. That is why Chicago must get things turned around. Only then will the wider NFL acknowledge Dexter for the good player he is.