It will be years before the 2022 Chicago Bears draft class proves itself good or bad. That is why one must be somewhat cautious about heaping too much praise on somebody before they’ve played an actual down of football in the NFL. Still, first impressions are an important step. Rookies that can stand out positively from the jump are rarely a bad thing. People held back their enthusiasm for Darnell Mooney despite the constant buzz of his exploits in practice leading up to the 2020 season. Then he broke the franchise record for rookie receptions.
There is no harm in feeling excited whenever rookies waste no time making noise as early as it is. That seems to be the case at Halas Hall already. According to Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog, two names have generated a boatload of positivity through the first minicamps and OTAs.
“Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker and Velus Jones Jr. are all expected to start come September and the early word on Gordon and Jones – inside the building – is remarkably positive. (It’s a bit hard for a safety to wow people before pads get involved.)”
Light it up, @kyler_gordon. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/rM5ZN6Ahlc
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) May 18, 2022
The Gordon news isn’t too surprising.
He’s the top draft pick for the Bears, and head coach Matt Eberflus singled him out by name when given the opportunity. Everybody can’t help but smile when talking about him. The bigger surprise is Jones. For all the slander the 3rd round pick got from experts claiming he was a reach and way too old, it doesn’t seem to affect him at all. He’s already doing what he did at Tennessee in 2021, which is giving the defense plenty to worry about.
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This is an excellent way for Chicago Bears fans to whet the palate if nothing else. If those two are showing up already in shorts, it creates anticipation for what they might do when the pads go on in July. To say nothing of the preseason in August. Having a draft class of 11 players makes watching exhibition games way more interesting than normal. No doubt the Bears brass would love nothing better than to see those two silence their critics right out of the gate.