LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Bears have invested heavily in their defensive front. Montez Sweat is the team’s highest-paid player. They signed Grady Jarrett and Dayo Odeyingbo to make eight figures a year on free-agent contracts signed this spring. They poured a second-round pick into Gervon Dexter Sr.

The Bears bought great talent with all those assets, though the team hasn’t received the production to match.

The Bears rank No. 19 in sack percentage (6.3%) and No. 27 in quarterback pressure percentage (28.7%). Those numbers aren’t what the Bears were hoping for with such an investment and there’s an acknowledgement that the pass rush overall needs to improve.

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“I mean, that’s a deep question,” head coach Ben Johnson said in a Wednesday press conference. “We’ve got to capitalize on the opportunities when guys get one-on-one on a tackle or on a guard. That’s really what it comes down to. If it’s a play action, we’ve got to transition to rushers fast.

“When you look at our third down numbers, I do think that’s indicative of how our pass rush — maybe not from a sack perspective — but from a pressure perspective has been able to influence the quarterback and affect him. Not everyone agrees with this statement, but the hits and the pressures are equally important to me as the sacks are. I would love to be leading the league in sacks right now but affecting the quarterback is really important for us. When I look at those true dropback situations, that’s what I’m looking at more than anything is how much we are affecting the quarterback.”

Johnson’s points are well taken. While the Bears pass rush isn’t an intimidating force right now, it has done some good things.

There’s no way the Bears rank second in third-down defense without a good pass rush. There’s no way the Bears lead the league in takeaways without a pass rush. There’s no way they lead the league in interceptions with 11(!) without impacting the pass rush.

Sweat is proof of that. Per NFL NextGen Stats, he’s tied for the league lead with three takeaways forced. He had a forced fumble against New Orleans that was recovered and created pressure that resulted in two interceptions versus Las Vegas.

Defensive coordinator has been impactful with blitzing defensive backs and linebackers, as Jaquan Brisker and Tremaine Edmunds have two sacks and 12 quarterback pressures between then.

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All that said, the Bears haven’t been great while bringing four. They don’t have a player with more than 3.5 sacks. They sorely missed Grady Jarrett while he was out four games with a knee injury.

And, if we’re being frank, Odeyingbo hasn’t reached his previous production. The free-agent signing has a 7.8% quarterback pressure percentage. That ranks No. 53 among qualifying defensive linemen and is far below previous seasons. He was at 11.9% in 2024 and 10.9% in 2023, when he had a career-high eight sacks.

Getting Jarrett steadily in the lineup and having Odeyingbo reach previous production levels would go a long way in improving this pass rush.

“Dayo has been really good as an interior rusher and I thought he played a really strong game last week in the run game,” Johnson said. “It was his best game yet of the season. But on the edge, we’re still working on that.”

Odeyingbo understands that and knows he can be better.

“It comes down to fundamentals,” Odeyingbo said. “It’s about focus on the fundamentals, get-off and body lean.”

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The Bears will also get Austin Booker back from injured reserve this week. While he didn’t have great production last season, he had an excellent preseason before suffering a knee injury. He’ll likely be a situational pass rusher.

Overall, there’s confidence that better’s on the horizon, as this group of talent continues to build chemistry. How?

“Our willingness to be unselfish and work together as a group,” Odeyingbo said. “Sometimes an individual isn’t in position deisgned to get home. Sometimes you’re containing the quarterback so someone else can get home. It comes down to working as a group, and I think we’re all willing to work together as a group to get the job done.”