Bears
Bears fourth-round LB Ruben Hyppolite II was excluded from nearly all pre-draft scouting events and took offense to being underrated throughout the process.
“When I called the second time, they said, ‘Nah, you’ll run at your pro day,’” Hyppolite said, via the Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain. “I wasn’t upset. I was a little aggravated. But I didn’t go in the tank. I said, ‘It’s time for me to get out the mud a little bit. And that’s what I did.’”
Hyppolite earned his way from being undrafted to being selected by Chicago in the fourth round. His 40 time helped solidify his draft spot. Former Olympic sprinter Ato Boldon helped Hyppolite with his technique.
“It was very hard for me to conceal what I thought Ruben could be,” Boldon said. “The first time I saw him run, I thought, ‘Shoot, he’s that fast, and there’s a lot of things I can help him with.’ From early in the program, I knew exactly what I had and was pretty sure he knew what he was capable of, too.”
Boldon thought that Hyppolite didn’t have his best run. He still ran an official 4.42 which propelled him up teams’ draft boards.
“Pressure’s a privilege,” Hyppolite said. “Going into it, if you saw me at the pro day, I heard nothing, saw nothing. I had tunnel vision. Couldn’t really explain the headspace I was in because that’s the mode I get into when it’s time to perform.”
When Hyppolite visited Chicago, he won the team over with his maturity level and aced the interview.
“He’s very mature, and he’s very business-oriented,” DC Dennis Allen said. “He’s got his life together off the field, which is going to allow him to be able to focus on the field with the football. There’s not going to be a lot of outside distractions with this guy, and I think that’s a positive. I think he’s going to be a guy that’s going to learn how to be a pro really quickly because of that maturity level.”
Bears Director of Player Personnel Francis St. Allen said the team circled Hyppolite and said that everyone in the building loved him and his attitude.
“You put a star by him,” St. Paul said. “(Allen) always speaks about speed, and we got it. … This guy is a great human being, great football character. He loves it. He’s a leader. To get that as well as a good football player, you can’t ask for anything more.”
- Courtney Cronin of ESPN names Hyppolite as a potential surprise player going into 2025 after first-team reps in practice with T.J. Edwards out with an injury.
- Bears HC Ben Johnson said Hyppolite has given a strong first impression: “He’s done a great job adjusting to that speed as we’ve gone through, and that’s going to have to show up once we do get the pads on. But I think he’s been improving every single day, and really, we’re hoping that course continues.”
Packers
- Rob Demovsky of ESPN calls second-year C Jacob Monk an under-the-radar player for the Packers after getting a “bulk of the work” in the first-team offense with Elgton Jenkins absent from their offseason program.
- Packers HC Matt LaFleur said Monk is showing a lot more confidence this offseason: “He’s done a nice job. He’s a lot more comfortable and confident in terms of going out there and knowing what to do. And for him, it’s just going to come down to those live reps.”
Vikings
- ESPN’s Kevin Seifert names recently signed CB Isaiah Rodgers as a potential surprise player for the Vikings in 2025 after showcasing his playmaking ability as a defender and speed as a kickoff return specialist.
- Vikings DC Brian Flores said Rodgers is proving to be an intelligent player: “He’s been a great addition. He’s got great football IQ and acumen.”
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