Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson opens mandatory minicamp with a dominant day, and Gervon Dexter Sr. talks about his get-off.
The Chicago Bears kicked off the first of three days of mandatory minicamp at Halas Hall on Tuesday afternoon.
These will be the final three days coach Ben Johnson will have to work with his players on the field and in the film room before the team returns in late July for training camp.
When Johnson was asked about his goals for minicamp, the Bears' coach emphasized establishing how the team goes about its business in the building and in practice.
"We've made significant strides there; we continue to get better with our practice habits and what it looks like," Johnson said. "Pursuit on defense, finish on offense, all the fundamentals, block after catch, maximizing our run after catch, looking to emphasize takeaways and ball security on offense. It's been a good back and forth. That's the cool thing when you watch it through six practices so far is seeing the offense have the upper hand sometimes and the defense get the upper hand some other times too. So there's a good back and forth going on right now that's really healthy.”
One of those players who has contributed to the back on forth is cornerback Jaylon Johnson. According to reporters at Halas Hall, Johnson intercepted two passes in Tuesday's practice, including one on Caleb Williams to end a two-minute drill.
Now is not the time to overreact to minicamp interceptions, but Johnson making plays for the defense is something Bears fans should want to hear at this time. The veteran cornerback was limited to just seven regular-season games last season after dealing with a torn adductor and core muscle injury in 2025.
Johnson gives defensive coordinator Dennis Allen a shutdown corner on one side of the field, but the former second-round pick has to stay healthy to show how he can impact this Bears team this season.
Another member of the Bears' defense who will have something to prove is defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. The 6-foot-6, 312-pound defensive lineman finished his third season in the NFL with 44 total tackles, six sacks and 41 total quarterback pressures.
One of Dexter's biggest critiques since entering the league as a second-round draft pick out of Florida has been his get-off. Dexter played in a two-gap scheme that required him to read and react, which impacted his ability to penetrate with speed off the snap.
According to Next Gen Stats, Dexter finished with a 5.98 second time to sack the quarterback, ranking 21st slowest among defensive linemen.
When Dexter was asked how to improve his get-off, he mentioned it starts with "going back and looking at it, I felt like I needed to improve the start of the down, whether that's get-off or starting from the stance. That's what I noticed.”
Dexter emphasized it's not his mechanics or play recognitions that's the issue but simply "getting a good stance, starting right, and then getting off the ball."
A major focus for the coaching staff going into this season has been prioritizing the fundamentals rather than Allen's scheme, and the players have started to notice the results.
"It's night and day in my opinion," Dexter said.
The hope is that Dexter's get-off along with the rest of the pass rush is also a night and day difference, which is exactly what this defense needs in order to help the team take another step this season.
“I'm looking at it as a new year, another year for me to grow as a player and get better," Dexter said. "I'm here to help this team win. We didn't reach the end goal we wanted last year, so I'm here to help get to that goal.”
