When defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo entered the new league year as a free agent for the first time in his young career, he didn't know what to expect.

Having evolved his talents since being drafted by the Colts out of Vanderbilt in 2021 and starting a career-high 14 of 17 games in 2024, Odeyingbo knew he'd garner interest.

But when the Bears expressed their desire to bring him to Chicago, the 25-year-old didn't hesitate.

"The history of the city and in this building, the type of players, the type of coaches, the type of people that have been in this building, it's special," Odeyingbo said during his introductory press conference Thursday. "And then to be able to do it in a city like Chicago that loves their football and loves their teams, it's an exciting opportunity.

"With all the guys coming in and having Caleb [Williams] being young, coach [Ben] Johnson coming in, D.A. (defensive coordintor Dennis Allen) coming in, we have an opportunity to do something special in a special city and it's exciting. This really wasn't an opportunity I could pass up and it really didn't make the decision hard."

While Odeyingbo noted that there was "really nowhere else I'd rather be" than Chicago, he did ask the Bears one key question during the free agency process: What is the vision for this team?

From top to bottom, everyone Odeyingbo spoke with expressed the same sentiment.

"The goal is to bring a Lombardi [Trophy] to this city," Odeyingbo said. "That was big for me. I want to have a meaningful career. I want to leave a legacy in the NFL. I don't want to just collect checks. I want to be a part of a winning culture and a winning organization."

Odeyingbo aims to achieve that goal through his versatility along the defensive line and desire to learn from veterans in the building such as the newly signed Grady Jarrett. While the Texas native is typically viewed as an edge player, Odeyingbo expressed his comfortability and productivity at any position up front.

That ability to operate in different alignments within a defensive scheme is part of what attracted Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles to Odeyingbo.

"If you watch the tape, you understand how disruptive he can be, both inside and outside," Johnson said. "He's 25, he's played a few years in the league —and this goes into our collaboration and working well in terms of the front office and coaching staff. We believe that there's even more room to grow for him to continue to get better."

Odeyingbo will join a defensive line room with a variety of experience, eager to work alongside players like Jarrett, Pro Bowler Montez Sweat, third-year pro Gervon Dexter Sr.

In his first couple hours as a Bear, Odeyingbo connected with Sweat, who FaceTimed him while training with his former teammate, Colts defensive tackle Grover Stewart, in Pensacola, Fla.

Odeyingbo has watched Sweat play since he was an All-American pass rusher at Mississippi State.

"He's dominant on the D-line and it's exciting to be able to play across from him and learn from him," Odeyingbo said. "To be able to learn from him in person, be a teammate, learn from him and help him grow, it's going to be exciting. And then along with the other guys on the D-line … I'm excited to get to work with them [and] grind with them."

Poles is equally excited to have Odeyingbo join the defensive line unit. The Bears general manager is Impressed with his ability to defend the run and rush the passer from a variety of locations and is excited to see how the group grows together this season.

"You can't have enough pass rushers on your team," Poles said, "but for this first group, to be able to align in different alignments, to be relentless and get the quarterback off the spot — Grady kind of hit on those topics yesterday — but for that part of our game, we all watched the Super Bowl, right? You want to have waves of pass rushers.

"So if all of those guys are getting better and they're working together, I really think we can affect the passer, and therefore it's going to put our team in a really good position."

Odeyingbo is also eager to work with coaches like Allen, who he's watched have success with the Saints defense over the past decade. He referred to Allen's defenses in New Orleans as "exciting to watch" and units that "get after the quarterback."

Odeyingbo is also reuniting with new Bears defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett, who was an assistant at Vanderbilt during his junior season in 2019.

"To have that familiar face in the building was huge," Odeyingbo said. "Coach JG was with me at Vandy for a little over a year and I'm excited to get to work with him, At Vandy he was just the assistant DL coach, so he couldn't really get his hands on me. Now it's exciting to really learn from him [and] have the opportunity to truly develop from him."

Along with his on-field talent, Odeyingbo is bringing a unique perspective to Chicago. Selected 54th overall by the Colts almost four years ago, he missed nearly half of his rookie season after tearing his Achilles while training for the draft.

While the injury felt like a setback in the moment, Odeyingbo now calls it a "blessing in disguise," having gained an appreciation for the opportunity to sit back and learn. Since playing his first NFL game Oct. 31, 2021, Odeyingbo has totaled 106 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 16.5 sacks, five forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.

In his eyes, that is simply the start of something much better.

"I still believe I'm just at the beginning," Odeyingbo said. "I have a lot of football ahead of me and I'm just starting to hit my stride. I've gone through a lot of learning throughout my years with the injury and having to grow through that, and I think it's made me a better player.

"I think I've improved consistently every year that I've played and I plan to continue to do that. For me, I feel like you should never stop improving as a player, stop getting better as a player. I'm just at the beginning of my career and I have a lot of great things ahead of me."