Bears’ recent draftees share special meaning behind draft hats

One of the Bears’ most recent draft picks, defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr., collected his hats in a less traditional way. Because he was not going to receive draft hats from the NFL, Dexter kept the hats that teams gave him from his 18 top 30 visits.

At his draft party last year, Dexter laid out the hats from “every team I felt was interested,” which included the Bears.

“It was surreal because after coming here on the 30 visit, I just felt it,” Dexter said. “I felt the different type of vibe. After every visit I would explain to my family, ‘this visit went this way, this visit went that way.’ After the [Bears’] visit, I could explain it to them, but they still wouldn’t be able to feel how I felt after leaving here.”

The vibe that Dexter felt was reciprocated by the Bears, who selected him with the No. 53 overall pick.

“Just putting that hat on, the tradition of being here felt so surreal,” Dexter said. “It was something super similar to when you commit to your college, and you grab that hat. It’s a [symbol] of who you are and where you’re gonna be at.”