Bear Digest

Bears' Ruben Hyppolite: Faster than Brian Urlacher and Roquan Smith

How fast exactly was that 4.39 Ruben Hyppolite II ran at a pro day? If the Bears fourth-rounder had run it at the combine he'd have been in very elite company.
Gene Chamberlain|
Maryland linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II tracks down current Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba in a game against Ohio State.
Maryland linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II tracks down current Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba in a game against Ohio State. | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The selection of linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II by the Bears in Round 4 led to plenty of head scratching among NFL analysts.

First, it was understandable because no one drafted earlier had failed to be invited to the combine like him. Those that remembered the stop watch at Maryland's pro day would have had a hard time forgetting the 4.39 seconds he ran in the 40-yard dash.

To put this in perspective, the Bears got a linebacker who ran a faster 40 time than Roquan Smith (4.51), than Brian Urlacher (4.59) and Lance Briggs (4.75).

Of course, this doesn't mean he's destined to be a Hall of Fame linebacker, but it is easy to see what the Bears saw in Hypplolite.

"One thing, when talking with D.A. (Dennis Allen, defensive coordinator), is that we want to continue to add to our team's speed, and he can fly," GM Ryan Poles said. "He's a low 4.4."

The 4.39 came at a pro day and to most this isn't proof of world class speed, but it's definitely hauling for a guy who is 6-foot, 232 pounds.

There's the old "39-yard dash" or friendly stop watches. However, the clocks on Hyppolite were said to range from 4.39 to 4.43.

If it was an accurate time, a 4.39 is the second-fastest ever run by a linebacker at the combine. The only combine time ever run faster by a linebacker was the 4.38 by Shaquem Griffin, drafted in 2018 by Seattle out of Central Florida in Round 5. He played three years in the NFL despite the handicap of playing with one hand after the other had been amputated.

A 4.39 is entirely uncommon for linebackers. In 2023 Owen Pappoe ran one, the fastest by a linebacker at the combine. He was taken in Round 5 by the Cardinals.

In 2021, Micah Parsons ran that fast but he's more of an edge rusher than an actual linebacker. Troy Andersen ran a 4.42 that year for the fastest by an actual linebacker in that class. Like with Pappoe, Andersen hasn't become a starter yet.

Current Packers linebacker Isaiah Simmons, a former Giant and Cardinal, had a 4.39 in 2020. Maybe the fastest 40 time turned in most recently by an actual effective, dominant linebacker was from Tampa Bay's Devin White's at 4.42 in 2019.

The fastest linebacker at this year's combine was 4.48 by Eugene Asante of Auburn and he didn't even get drafted. Miami signed him as a UDFA. He's a 219-pound linebacker, which probably means he could drop weight to be a safety or add a bit and stay at linebacker.

Hyppolite visited the Bears at a pro day and tried to get across to them that he is no speedy workout warrior type of athlete and actually can run and hit. More than that, he wanted to display his football knowledge.

"That I was a smart player," he said. "That I knew my defense and that I could talk ball at a very highly effective rate. I wanted to get across to them that I have the speed to play this position, I have the ability to play this position. Just really talking to them about my scheme, how I could fit into their scheme."

He felt like he did, and the fourth-round selection when no other combine snub had yet been drafted shows how well he succeeded.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.