Bears Can Find an Interior Push Close to Home

Either the Bears have great plans for free agency at defensive tackle, or they know something hidden about the performance last season of rookie Gervon Dexter.

Nothing much has been said about their need at defensive tackle, which is surprising considering how prominently coach Matt Eberflus has mentioned the 3-technique position in the past.

The 3-technique aligns off the guard's outside shoulder on the weak side of the formation, with the defensive end aligned outside the weakside tackle. It is basically the attack dog position of the defensive front in Eberflus' scheme, just as it was when the Bears of Lovie Smith's era had Tommie Harris and Henry Melton.

Asked about his priorities for the draft and free agency after settling the quarterback issue, Eberflus said at the combine: "Certainly pass rusher is one of them. We got to make sure that we have somebody opposite of Sweat. We can never have enough of those guys because they affect the game the most."

Someone opposite Sweat is an end.

This is surprising in itself as Eberflus and Ryan Poles last year insisted they could build a pass rush out of their interior players after they hadn't gone after a big-name edge rusher. The trouble, of course, was they had no interior pass rushers either.

So they signed Yannick Ngakoue in desperation, then when that didn't work found great relief with the trade for Montez Sweat.

All the while, their interior linemen did play outstanding against the run. However, Andrew Billings and Justin Jones weren't providing the pass rush push in the face of QBs that was going to constantly thrown them off and make the defense go.

As 3-technique, Jones was better than the previous season with 12 quarterback knockdowns, 22 pressures and 4 1/2 sacks, according to Sportradar. However, Pro Football Focus made him only the 108th best defensive tackle despite the Bears being No. 1 in the league against the run.

Dexter played better in the season's second half with quarterback hits in nine straight games and his 2 1/2 sacks also coming then, but he wasn't a dominant defensive presence.

Even if they liked what Dexter did, Jones is a free agent now and they're down a defensive tackle unless he comes back.

So it's surprising there is little buzz about the Bears looking in the draft at a home-grown guy, or at least one who played college in Illinois. That would be Jer'Zhan Newton, or Johnny Newton to you and usually to his family.

"Everybody calls me Johnny," he told combine reporters about his family. "If I'm in trouble, Jer'Zhan."

He gave himself his nickname to simplify things.

"A lot of people just don't know how to say Jer'Zhan, so I was like, just call me Johnny," Newton told reporters at the combine. "Either or is fine. I really don’t mind what somebody calls me. Jer'Zhan, Johnny, it's whatever."

Just don't call him late to the quarterback.

Considering his brothers are named Jervon, Jerquan, Jerjuan and Jershaun, Johnny is just fine.

With 18 career sacks and 27 1/2 tackles for loss, the 6-foot-2, 295-pound Newton was a playmaker for his career with the Illini and it all started because a face very familiar to the Bears brought him there. Newton was set to go to Maryland but Smith was the only head college coach to come visit him at his high school playoff game and this persuaded him to come instead to Champaign.

The former Bears coach knows a 3-technique when he sees one.

Melton had been a college fullback and running back but eventually became a 3-technique and the Bears drafted him when Smith was there. Newton had similar beginnings. He was a running back in high school and planned to make sure everyone knows it at the Thursday afternoon 40-yard dash.

"Show that I'm still a running back," he said of his workout goal. "If you know, you know. I can move great. I got great speed. A lot of people at Illinois, or whoever watched our games, they already know that, but a lot of teams don't know that. So I'll just show that, show my strength."

Newton was graded well enough to make it into the mid-first round of many mock drafts but has since slid. He is no longer in Mel Kiper's first round, so if the Bears get a second-round pick through a trade—possibly by dealing away a certain quarterback—then it's possible Newton could come into play if he hasn't been taken earlier.

Part of the reason for Newton's drop was a foot injury that required surgery after his season. He gutted out the pain last year and says he's good to go now.

He could be just what they Bears are looking for considering the comparisons that have been made. One is to former Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins.

"Geno Atkins is a dawg," Newton said. "Like, everybody knows that. So just being compared to NFL greats like that, I take it to heart, for sure. Just to be mentioned in the same conversations as those guys and I haven’t even played an NFL snap yet, I think it’s pretty cool."

Newton actually had a pretty good 3-technique to study close to home in the Clearwater, Fla. area growing up. Warren Sapp was the 3-technique for the Buccaneers when Smith and Rod Marinelli were defensive coaches. That was Warren Sapp.

It's that Tony Dungy defense which spawned this Bears defensive system and now Eberflus could use a player in it who can dominate at a crucial position.

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