Bears GM Ryan Poles seemingly knew the Ruben Hyppolite II selection would be perceived as a reach, time will tell if it was the right decision
Out of all the eight selections made by the Chicago Bears in the first draft of the general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson tandem, the most surprising pick had to be linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II.I don't mean that as a negative. Throughout the draft process, little was known about the Maryland linebacker, […]
Out of all the eight selections made by the Chicago Bears in the first draft of the general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson tandem, the most surprising pick had to be linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II.
I don't mean that as a negative. Throughout the draft process, little was known about the Maryland linebacker, despite his leadership ability and strong instincts on tape.
When the Bears selected him with the 132nd overall pick in the fourth-round, he became the first non-Combine invite to be selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. For context, 329 prospects were invited to the pre-draft event.
Even the Bears knew the pick would be perceived as a reach by those outside the building once the decision was made to draft Hyppolite.
"Are they going to have a highlight," Poles jokingly asked while in the war room via the latest episode of 1920 Football Drive. "Are they going to be ready for this one? I love when they're not ready for it."
For the most part, not a lot of people were ready for what the Bears did at pick 132. Credit to ESPN's Field Yates for providing some insight on the lesser-known prospect who slipped into the fourth-round live during the network's coverage.
Hyppolite's pre-draft process has been well documented since that moment. For short, his blazing 40-yard-dash at the Maryland Pro Day wowed scouts in attendance, prompting teams to line up Top-30 visits with him, including a trip to Halas Hall.
"Everybody loved him in the building," assistant director of college scouting Francis Saint Paul explained on the episode. "He's one of the guys you put a star by."
After seeing him in the building and getting to meet him, it made for an easy decision for the Bears. Not to mention the impact he had on the field and those around him.
"This guy is a great human being," Saint Paul added. "Great football character, he loves it. Great leader. To get that as well as a great football player, we can't ask for anything more."
Since arriving to the team facilities for the offseason program, Hyppolite has continued to turn heads with his mentality. Veteran linebacker Tremaine Edmunds even complimented him while speaking with the media last week during OTAs.
"I can see how much he loves the game," Edmunds explained. "He's real observant of what's going on around. I was kind of like that when I was a rookie… He's going to be a good player for sure. I like the way that he approaches it, business-like mindset."
Being able to learn behind Edmunds and T.J. Edwards at the position is going to be great for his development. And with an open competition taking place at the strong-side linebacker spot, time will tell if Hyppolite can prove the reach was well worth it.
Behind-the-scenes footage shows how the second-round of the 2025 NFL Draft still turned out perfectly for the Bears despite early hiccup
It was a cool process to watch play out.
