Bear Digest

Zacch Pickens in Position to Show Ryan Poles Made Right Choice

The Bears GM passed on several productive defensive tackles to draft Zacch Pickens and Gervon Dexter, but now they need better numbers in Year 2 from the young interior of the line.

Gene Chamberlain

Zacch Pickens sacks Will Levis in preseason last year. The Bears wouldn't mind seeing that in this year's season opener.
Zacch Pickens sacks Will Levis in preseason last year. The Bears wouldn't mind seeing that in this year's season opener. / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
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There have been successes at specific positions during the three drafts of Bears GM Ryan Poles.

Whether he achieved it in drafting defensive tackles won't be known for a while because it seems like those are positions requiring time to develop. Often it takes three or four years, but not always.

Poles absorbed some criticism for not drafting Jalen Carter at No. 9 and moving back one spot so the Eagles could take the risk of selecting a player who had been involved in a drag racing incident that led to the death of the competitors.

Carter made All-Rookie and was second in voting for rookie of the year following a six-sack season.

If the Bears had picked him they wouldn't have had right tackle Darnell Wright.

Consider, however, that Poles could have also drafted Wake Forest defensive tackle Kobie Turner with any one of three picks: No. 53 and 56 in Round 2 or No. 64 in Round 3.

Instead, he drafted South Carolina's Zacch Pickens No. 64 in Round 3. Pickens made half a sack, three pressures and 20 tackles.

They did pick Gervon Dexter 53rd and he had 2 1/2 sacks playing 3-technique tackle.

Turner, meanwhile, made nine sacks for the Rams last year after being chosen with the 89th pick.

If that's not enough, Green Bay got more sacks (4) than those two made with sixth-round interior defensive line selection Karl Brooks and Arizona had 3 1/2 sacks from sixth-rounder Dante Stills.

Let's put it this way: Pickens and Dexter have some ground to make up, and there's little keeping them from doing it now with starting 3-technique Justin Jones in Arizona.

Dexter's improvement has been the Bears' much-publicized chief plan at solving the critical 3-technique spot all offseason.

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Any plan requires a Plan B. Pickens is the alternative should Dexter not become the player they need at the position coach Matt Eberflus has labeled as a key to his defensive scheme.

The Bears have actually been preparing Pickens more to be the alternative should either Dexter or nose tackle Andrew Billings leave the game.

"I'm getting a lot more opportunities at different spots at the Three and the nose, so it’s been fun playing around in different spots to get a good feeling and just to play fast," Pickens said. "Wherever they want me at, I want to be at."

The 6-foot-4, 300-pounder from South Carolina last year played about a quarter of the team's defensive reps.

For what it's worth, Pro Football Focus found a ray of hope in his start by grading him 83rd out of 130 interior line defenders, 18 spots higher than Dexter and 24 spots ahead of former Bears starter Jones.

Through help from Bears line coach Travis Smith and new coordinator Eric Washington, Pickens has identified key areas to improve.

"Get-offs and having a rush plan," Pickens said. "Last year I struggled with identifying if it was run or pass. This year, I'm doing a little bit better.

"Coach Trav and everybody on the D-line, we've been working to get better getting to the quarterback, working together having schemes to be better, rushing as one, instead of just by ourselves."

Solving this problem by quickly identifying run or pass is essential for any lineman in a one-gap system like the Bears use, because their first action is quickly getting into the gap and then seeing on the move whether they're after the quarterback or the run. 

In the two-gap style, they read and react instead of moving first.

Last year Pickens was playing mostly 3-technique. Dexter backing up Jones or moved to nose. Now he's being prepared more to do either.

"I guess, playing nose it's like everything's so fast, everything's so quick," Pickens said. "It may look like it's run, but it's pass and it's realizing their steps.

"How many steps they're taking, they can only go left, right or back or forward, so knowing where the (offensive line's) slide and everything is going and I'm slowly starting to understand that."

Pickens knows there are doubters after the start he has had. It's also easy to see who the Bears could have taken and make comparisons.

"Oh yes, that's what keeps me whole," Pickens said. "I've always been doubted, so I use that as fuel and always to keep going."

"Dex, Montez, they all stay on me, Bill, they challenge me," Pickens said. "Everybody still challenges me like I'm still one of them. Everybody is happy where I'm at. I've got a lot to improve on and work on and that's what camp is for, too."

So Pickens is stressing a simple approach.

"I guess identifying run and pass and just let loose," he said. "Let it go. Don't hold back."

The Bear's interior pass rush could depend on it, should Plan A fail.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.