Rating Trevis Gipson's Bid for Third Bears Edge Rusher

Evidence from meetings and walk-throughs give Bears hope rookie Trevis Gipson can go rapidly from college down lineman to stand-up NFL pass rusher

The Bears are asking a great deal of rookie Trevis Gipson considering he's undergoing what basically is a position change.

They're just not anticipating he'll be able to take over the third pass rusher position.

Gipson played more as a down lineman at Tulsa, someone who didn't stand up when he rushed off the edge. In some formations, he was almost like a 5-technique end.

So in the Bears' 3-4 they are making their fifth-round pick stand and play the position Robert Quinn and Khalil Mack play. Yet outside linebackers coach Ted Monachino sees evidence he can make the rapid switch.

"Now, different systems. Right?" Monachino said. "It's a little bit of a projection with some of the things he was asked to do most recently at Tulsa.

"But I absolutely have 100-percent confidence that we're going to be able to get some of those things into his toolbox as quickly as possible so he can come in and help us right away."

One main reason Monachino remains optimistic of a quick switchover by Gipson is his build.

"Well first overall, you look at can a guy physically do what we ask of players at our position to do," Monachino said. "Trevis absolutely can. He can do all of those things. Whether we're talking about the run game, rushing the passer, in coverage, some of the things that we ask our guys to do."

At 6-foot-3, 261, Gipson is the same height as Mack and 8 pounds lighter. He's an inch shorter and 4 pounds heavier than Quinn.

In terms of athleticism, Gipson is not as fast as either Mack or Quinn coming out of college.

Mack ran 4.65 and Quinn 4.6 in the 40, while Gipson was at 4.73. He's a good 6 inches off of Mack's phenomenal 40-inch vertical leap, but was tied with what Quinn did. The only major testing area he came out ahead of both was 25 reps at 225 pounds in the bench press. Mack did 23 and Quinn 22.

His wingspan is about the same as Mack's at 81-1/2 inches, about three-quarters of an inch less than Quinn.

It's in Gipson's willingness to learn and work ethic where the Bears see the most hope for quick success.

"This is a high-football character player," Monachino said. "He's smart, he's tough, he's relentless worker, he's an excellent teammate.

"Just in the time that we've spent with him, that's clearly obvious."

Monachino cited the questions Gipson asked during virtual training and during the walk-throughs on the field as evidence he can make fast progress.

"He's not overconfident in anything, and because of that is very, very attentive inmeetings," Monachino said. "He's asking a bunch of questions not only in meetings, so he's not embarrassed to ask a question in front of the veterans."

Desire to succeed is high on the priority list, as well.

"It's really, really important to him," Monachino said. "It's part of his life. It's not what defines him entirely, but it is a huge part of his life.

"He has very high expectations of himself, just like we do. As he has gone through this offseason program, you can tell that his intent is to come in here and play really good football from the first day he walks in the door. And that's encouraging for all of us.

"This is a mature, grown man type of player."

Nevertheless, Monachino puts Gipson nowhere in the battle for third outside rusher. He sees Barkevious Mingo as a key player who has the capability of rushing passers even with only 10 career sacks. 

"I absolutely believe he (Mingo) has that," Monachino said. "I also believe that that’s a real competition right now, between he and Isaiah Irving and James Vaughters. I think that’s real. I think those three guys are competing for that next spot. 

"But knowing Barkevious — I had a chance to coach Barkevious for a year in Indy — he’s a great pro, No. 1. No. 2, football’s easy for him. He’s a guy that learns well. Doesn’t require a ton of reps to learn. And he’s very mature. It’s not like he’s going to be distracted. This is a guy that knows how to focus when it’s time to focus."

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