The Chicago Bears continued to collect quality depth along the front seven during the 2025 NFL Draft, selecting former Maryland linebacker Ruben Hyppolite with the No. 132 overall pick in the fourth round on Saturday.
Hyppolite, six feet and 232 pounds tied a career-high with a team-leading 66 total tackles last season to go with one interception and two pass breakups, while seemingly always finding his way near the football.
However, what likely pushed Hyppolite up the Bears’ board is his potentially game-altering speed that was frequently on display throughout his career at College Park. At the Terrapins’ pro day, Hyppolite ran the 40-yard dash in a blazing 4.42 seconds.
Hyppolite’s speed helped power him to 218 career tackles with 11 tackles for loss.
How Ruben Hyppolite fits the Chicago Bears’ defense
General manager Ryan Poles and the Bears have invested significant resources in the front seven this offseason, with Hyppolite poised to potentially add quality reps as a rotational linebacker.
“Hyppolite’s career production is fairly pedestrian relative to the number of starts he’s made,” NFL Media’s Lance Zierlein writes of Hyppolite. “But he has the kind of speed that is rarely dismissed out of hand by NFL evaluators. The more one watches, the more one realizes he plays with natural instincts to sniff out and pursue the play. It appears his lack of take-on technique and tackle consistency will be his biggest hindrances at the next level.”
Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen could wind up moving Hyppolite to weakside linebacker and turning him loose to rush the passer and deploy his speed to get downhill in a hurry.
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