Ryan Poles was set to describe new Bears center Drew Dalman on Thursday, a customary part of an opening statement introducing new free-agent signings.

The general manager typically goes in-depth in these instances but instead deferred to someone else.

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“It’ll be hard to explain his game better than Grady did yesterday,” Poles said in a Thursday press conference. “I thought he did a fantastic job explaining who Drew is as a football player.”

Grady Jarrett should know. The interior defensive lineman has faced off with Dalman hundreds of times in Atlanta Falcons practice since 2021.

The two were teammates for four seasons and clash all spring and summer preparing for the season. If there’s anyone who truly knows how Dalman plays, it’s Jarrett.

“Drew is tough, Drew is smart. Stanford guy. He’s big, strong, quick,” Jarrett said the previous day. “I think something that makes Drew so difficult — when you’re a defensive lineman going against him, his hat speed with the way he can reach nose tackles, even reach three techniques to be able to eject the three technique out when the guard makes a base block, with the power and knowing how to climb up.

“I mean, working against him in Atlanta, he was so smart, and he had some great guys working with him as well, but to see his growth as a rookie to where he’s come now, I mean, the dude is a beast. I’m happy that he’s gonna be here and I think he’s gonna bring a lot to this team.”

Dalman and Jarrett bring a lot to practices. They don’t take sessions off and they don’t back down from a challenge. In sum, they’ll make their opponent work every single rep. While Jarrett has a long track record of high-level play, Dalman’s far younger and relatively new to the NFL game.

He received a master class from Jarrett, as he and the guards next to him got better through reps against the established pro. Dalman learned a ton by doing, but Jarrett would also talk to the linemen about what he saw and how to counter players like him in games.

“Super fortunate to be a teammate with Grady, and it sounds like you guys got a good taste of him yesterday,” Dalman said, with a laugh. “Incredible player, incredible guy in the locker room. Absolute professional. I remember coming into Atlanta and seeing him go about his business and seeing him work, and I immediately understood that, okay, this is the gold standard.

“Then in practice, making me look silly dozens of times. Exploiting my weaknesses, forcing me to learn from them and adapt to them. That’s been invaluable in my development. I look forward to being able to practice against him more and all that stuff. A guy that lets us know about our tells and our tendencies because he’ll pick up on them. He’s a savvy player in that way. I think he’s a huge resource for the offensive line in general.”

Dalman and Jarrett didn’t plan to end up in the same spot, but this happy accident should pay dividends for the Bears in practice and games that count. They’ve got two excellent interior players on opposite sides who got better by facing each other.

“I don’t have better guys to sharpen my sword against (than Dalman, Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson) because they’re going to come every day and give you their all,” Jarrett said. “I played against these guys and it’s been battles.

“I know what Drew’s about. We’ll be able to practice against each other. Iron sharpens iron. I think training camp’s going to be fun. It’s going to be physical.”