The Chicago Bears didn’t make a ton of high-profile moves early in the NFL draft this year. That changed though once the 5th round arrived. Their most notable moment came when they traded a 4th round pick in 2021 for the rights to a 5th round pick from the Minnesota Vikings. A pick they used to grab Tulsa defensive end Trevis Gipson.
This was interesting for a multitude of reasons. Pace has a proven history of success in the middle rounds when it comes to trading up for players. See Eddie Jackson and Nick Kwiatkoski. It also marked the first time he’d ever made a trade with a division rival. So it’s pretty clear he wanted Gipson badly. Why though? The defensive end had a solid final year, producing eight sacks and 15 tackles for a loss.
As always, context is key. Longtime draft expert Josh Norris of Rotoworld is a huge fan of Gipson as he stated on the Under Center Podcast with JJ Stankevitz.
“I love this pick. I absolutely love this pick. Every year I go down the list and try to find prospects, especially pass rushers, with great athletic profiles and kind of fall in love with them.”
Norris believes Gipson is the kind of guy who develops into something much more given time.
One reason for that confidence? The fact the defensive end was so productive despite a myriad of things working against him.
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“One, he has no idea what he’s doing. He has no idea of technique or hand usage or a pass rush plan. Any of that stuff. But Tulsa did him no favors. At all. Often he was on the inside shade of the outside blocker. So if the tight end was on the end of the line, then he’s basically working to his inside shoulder. That gives you no space. That puts you between two blockers.
For an athlete like this, you want him to threaten on the outside and work back on the inside if you can. There were some snaps of that and I thought he was great.”
Trevis Gipson credits Von Miller for opening his eyes
It’s true. Gipson himself admitted he had no clue what it took to rush the passer for most of his college career. Not until he attended a camp hosted by Denver Broncos star Von Miller did he finally start to understand the importance of technique, hand usage, and having a plan. He applied those lessons to his 2019 season and the results were almost immediate.
What is so great for him now is he’ll have a chance to learn from two of the best moving forward. Khalil Mack is a superstar of the highest order. Now he’ll be joined by Robert Quinn who is drawing close to 100 sacks for his career. These guys have made millions of dollars off putting quarterbacks on the ground. If Gipson can’t find his way learning from these two, then he has no place in the NFL.