The Bears rookie most likely to be in the starting lineup Week 1 might not be their first pick, Colston Loveland, who figures to start the season as the team’s second tight end. It might not be one of their three second-round picks, either — Luther Burden is likely the team’s third receiver in Week 1, Ozzy Trapilo figures to back up veteran Braxton Jones at left tackle and Shemar Turner is one of six interior defensive linemen fighting for playing time.
Ruben Hyppolite II, though, has a chance to be one of the three linebackers to take the field for the first snap against the Vikings on “Monday Night Football.”
Head coach Ben Johnson singled out Hyppolite at the end of mandatory minicamp this month, saying the Bears saw the most improvement from him among all their players.
“He’s done a nice job of learning,” he said. “He’s swimming a little bit, but he’s taking it seriously.”
More so than his rookie peers, the fourth-round pick has the best mix of potential and opportunity. If the Bears stick to their plan to start their third-best linebacker — behind TJ Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds — at the strong-side spot, Hyppolite should like his odds. Amen Ogbongbemiga has played 34 defensive snaps in the last three years, while Noah Sewell and Swayze Bozeman have 39 defensive snaps combined in their NFL careers.
Hyppolite spent time with the first team during OTAs and mandatory minicamp, at times playing Edwards’ spot while the veteran tended to a soft tissue injury.
“It’s a great opportunity to be running with them and them to be running with me,” said the 6-foot, 236-pound Maryland alum. “It’s football … What’s my assignment? What’s my responsibility? And, did I do my job? It doesn’t matter if it’s with the ones, twos or threes, four’s, whoever. It’s all about me doing my job and doing it to the best of my ability.”
That means using his most dangerous trait: his speed.
In Greek, the name “Hippolyte” — spelled differently — means someone who unleashes the horses. When Hyppolite takes off down the field, he does the same thing. At Maryland’s pro day, he ran, according to some scouts’ stopwatches, a 4.39-second 40-yard dash.
He wasn’t invited to the NFL Scouting Combine. Had he been, his 4.39-second 40-yard dash time would have been the second-fastest ever recorded by a linebacker in Indianapolis.
“The No. 1 thing is, he can run,” defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. “The things that we’re going to have to ask our ‘backers to have to do, they’ve got to be able to match up with tight ends, with running backs at times. They’ve got to be able to match up with wide receivers, sometimes that’s carrying things vertical down the field.
“We’re looking for guys that can run, and then we’re looking for guys that have a physical mentality, physical demeanor. I felt like he exhibited those things on tape.”
Not everyone around the NFL agreed — that’s why he wasn’t invited to the combine. The Bears got to know him, though, by hosting him on one of their 30 collegiate visits to Halas Hall. The Bears wanted to get to know him better after watching film and getting an endorsement from northeast area scout Tom Bradway.
During the meeting, Allen found a player who seemed to mean business.
“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,” said Allen, the former Raiders and Saints head coach. “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.”
Fellow linebacker Tremaine Edmunds sees it too.
“His mindset coming to the building, especially being a rookie, is where it needs to be,” he said.
Then there’s the scheme fit. Allen’s system begs for speed on the strong side. Jack Sanborn didn’t have it — he ran a 4.73-second 40-yard dash coming out of Wisconsin. That’s why the Bears decided not to give Sanborn a restricted free agent contract in March, allowing him to follow former head coach Matt Eberflus to the Cowboys.
Hyppolite has the speed. Now he needs to learn how to harness it at the NFL level — in addition to mastering what’s needed of him in Allen’s defense.
“I’ve gotta learn it and get it right,” he said, “and make the play when my number’s called.”
For all his speed, Hyppolite forced only two turnovers over five college seasons and totaled just three sacks. The Bears need more than that from Hyppolite on special teams and at linebacker, even if the strong-side player comes off the field every time the Bears go into nickel or dime coverage.
The Bears will get a longer look when rookies report to training camp July 19.
“He’s done a great job adjusting to that speed as we’ve gone through,” Johnson said. “And that’s going to have to show up once we do get the pads on.”
