Recent concerns about the Bears potentially adding another defensive lineman might be focused on the wrong position.
While much of the talk has centered around bringing in an edge rusher, especially after their attempt to trade for Matthew Judon, the Bears are now facing the possibility of an injury sidelining one of their key defensive tackles ahead of the final preseason game—a game that could have provided valuable experience.
Defensive tackle Zacch Pickens missed Tuesday’s practice, and the situation is serious enough that he also missed Wednesday’s session. With the regular season less than three weeks away, defensive coordinator Eric Washington is uncertain about Pickens’ availability as the team’s primary interior line replacement.
Gervon Dexter is gonna be unstoppable very soon, looks like he completely changed his physique to complement Billings. Feels pretty good to be unbelievably right about him from day 1. https://t.co/jqSY9vhyP7
— ryan maye (@ryanolsonn) August 19, 2024
“Right now, I’m just focused on him getting the treatment he needs and receiving feedback from our medical staff and Zacch himself,” Washington said. “I can’t give a definite opinion on his availability for the opener because his injury is recent.”
Washington emphasized that it’s too early to say whether Pickens will be available for the start of the season. Pickens has been backing up both 3-technique defensive tackle Gervon Dexter and nose tackle Andrew Billings. The team’s fourth defensive tackle, Byron Cowart, is more of a nose tackle.
I’ll tell you one guy that just does nothing for me is Zacch Pickens. I think he’s gonna be a rare Poles draft miss. Poles obviously appears to be a good drafter but he’s had some issues in the 3rd rounds with Velus and Pickens
— Ryan James (@RJChicagoSports) August 19, 2024
“We’ll have to see how he responds to treatment and wait for more direction from our medical staff,” Washington added.
Pickens, who was the fourth defensive tackle last year behind Billings, Dexter, and former starter Justin Jones (now with Arizona), moved up to the first backup spot after Jones left.
Last year, Zacch Pickens had a better overall Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade than both Gervon Dexter and Justin Jones, despite playing only about 60% of the snaps that Dexter did. Pickens was graded 83rd among all interior defensive linemen, while Dexter ranked 101st and Jones 107th.
In the preseason, Pickens leads Bears defensive tackles with six tackles. The situation seemed even worse on Tuesday when Dexter briefly left practice, but he quickly returned to finish the session.
Zacch Pickens and Gervon Dexter Sr showing some of their offseason work. pic.twitter.com/3eRjQHgrqT
— ImBearingDown (@ImBearingDown) August 14, 2024
Backing up Pickens are Michael Dwumfour, Keith Randolph Jr., and Dashaun Mallory. However, Dwumfour has also been out of practices due to an injury.
The Bears’ current injury rehab group across all positions could create challenges for the coaches when making final cuts by Wednesday at 3 p.m. There may be a player in this injured group who deserves to make the cut, and their availability for the opener could influence roster decisions.
“It’s a little tougher, but you also have to consider what they’ve done before they were unable to participate,” defensive coordinator Eric Washington said about evaluating injured players. “There’s a lot of projection involved, but also the evaluation of the players—why they’re here. An evaluation was made before they were drafted or signed, and during the offseason, you start to anticipate where they could go in the following year and the jump we expect them to make.”
Zacch Pickens flashing in the run game? Zacch Pickens flashing in the run game 👀
His length has popped over the last few weeks, and when he's winning first contact he's controlling his reps. Keep an eye on him over these next 3 weeks — he's seeing more snaps for a reason. pic.twitter.com/USw9IoUNPv
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) December 20, 2023
The Bears are not required by the league to disclose the specifics of injuries until the first injury reports are released on Wednesday, Sept. 4.
