The Chicago Bears, like any other team, tries to make full use of every event during the pre-draft process to find the right players. One that GM Ryan Pace has actually exploited a number of times is the Senior Bowl. Look back at his later round hits and a lot of them were big contributors in that event. Adrian Amos in 2015. Cody Whitehair and Nick Kwiatkoski in 2016. Bilal Nichols in 2018. He typically targets guys who stand out during that week of action and it seems like 2020 was no exception. This time it was Trevis Gipson of Tulsa and Kindle Vildor of Georgia Southern who got the nods.
Anybody who watched the week of practices and drills down in Mobile probably found themselves mentioning both of those names several times. That’s not fluff either. There were several clips of either Gipson dominating a blocker for a “sack” or Vildor providing sticky coverage on a wide receiver. They did this consistently for days.
Now obviously doing this in practice is one thing. What teams love about the Senior Bowl is it provides an actual game to play in. A game that features some of the best talents a draft has to offer. Teams want to see good practices transfer into the game. Well for Gipson and Vildor, that sure wasn’t a problem. Gipson had half a sack on the afternoon and came close to two others. Vildor came down with an interception. It was the exclamation point on a strong week of work. No doubt a major factor in convincing the Bears to trade up for both of them a few months later.
Trevis Gipson and Kindle Vildor look like NFL players
Obviously the Senior Bowl isn’t the ultimate measuring stick for NFL greatness. Plenty of players have gone through, played well there and did nothing in the pros. However, it is reliable at giving an idea of whether or not certain players have what it takes. Beloved former running back Matt Forte won the game’s MVP honors in 2008. So it’s okay to be intrigued and excited about guys who delivered when the chips are down as Gipson and Vildor did.
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Couple that with their strong college careers and Pace’s long track record of finding good players in later rounds? Optimism is allowed in this instance. Nobody is saying these two will end up being stars. That’s not realistic. However, the odds of them becoming reliable starters is not unreasonable to think at all. They have the talent and work ethics. All they need is the opportunity. Chicago is a perfect place for them.
