Bears 2025 draft pick profile: DT Shemar Turner

USA Today

30-04-2025

Bears 2025 draft pick profile: DT Shemar Turner
The Chicago Bears selected Texas A&M defensive tackle Shemar Turner with the 62nd overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
Turner, a three-year starter, is an explosive interior defender who's a solid run defender and fits the aggressive style of defense that Allen is looking to employ in Chicago. Last season with the Aggies, he totaled 36 tackles, including 5.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, one pass breakup and a forced fumble in 12 starts.
Turner joins a defensive line group that features interior defenders Gervon Dexter, Andrew Billings and newcomer Graddy Jarrett and edge rushers Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo.
Here's a quick rundown on Turner:
The Basics
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 290 pounds
Age: 22
From: DeSoto, Texas
Breakdown
Tweener of a DT at 6-foot-3 and 294 pounds but with good length and power. Turner is an explosive athlete off the line with experience at edge and inside. He gained a reputation for getting flags due to his competitive nature. He projects well with great twitch and powerful hands. If he can play more disciplined, he'll be a starter in the NFL for a long time. -- Ayrton Outlay
Dane Brugler's Scouting Report
A three-year starter at Texas A&M, Turner played a three-technique role as a senior in head coach Mike Elko's four-man front, logging snaps everywhere from zero- to seven-technique. After playing primarily on the edge as an underclassman, he added weight for the transition inside in 2024 and made his presence known on every tape studied, despite playing through a stress fracture.
With his active motor and body quickness, Turner finds ways to pierce gaps and affect the backfield action. He has a strong, explosive grip to snatch and displace blockers in the run game, although he can be a liability at times when he abandons his gap or fails to break down and finish. Much will be made of his overzealous tendencies, which draw attention from officials, but as one scout described him: "He's the type you want on your side." Overall, Turner needs to introduce more discipline to his play style, but he prides himself on being the aggressor and relies on his initial twitch, fierce hands and combative mentality to be a factor. He projects best as a penetrating one-gap tackle.
They Said It
"We want violence and we want knock-back, and so if that was the goal, you look at a player like Shemar and he really embodies those things: relentless, violence, changing the line of scrimmage. I think it really checks the boxes. It's a good fit for scheme and culture and what we're looking for." -- Bears director of player personnel Trey Koziol
RAS card
Grade: B
If Turner heals quickly and can channel his aggression into plays from whistle to whistle, this could turn out to be a very nice pick as the Bears look to fortify their defensive line. NFL analyst Lance Zierlein compared Turner to Baltimore Ravens star Nnamdi Madubuike, showing just what his ceiling can be if he reaches it. We'll see how quickly he gets adjusted and how his shin holds up. -- Brendan Sugrue
Highlights
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