One thing to remember about the Chicago Bears? They have guys at the top who know good players can be found almost anywhere. It’s a matter of making sure to look. GM Ryan Pace built his reputation on it in New Orleans. Head coach Matt Nagy was one such player himself and eventually learned to embrace the underdog learning from Andy Reid. If a guy can play, he can play. Doesn’t matter where he came from. Could that be why they’re keeping tabs on Gavin Zimbelman?
If you don’t know the name, don’t feel bad. It’s hard to know every quarterback in college football. Especially when he comes from Division III. His story is a sad one. Zimbelman was in the middle of becoming a star at his level. In his first year as a starter for Aurora University, he threw for a whopping 57 touchdowns and added an additional four on the ground. The guy was practically unstoppable. This included a four-TD performance in the playoffs.
He was an exciting player to watch.
Unfortunately, his plans for the future like so many others were ruined by COVID-19. The pandemic forced Division III football to cancel its season in 2020. This meant Zimbelman wasn’t able to follow up on his brilliant first year. It’s hard enough to get noticed for the NFL at the regular college level. Doing it from D-III is even more challenging.
However, it appears a few teams didn’t forget what Zimbelman did two years ago. One of them was the Bears who attended the college to evaluate several players including him. So what exactly do they see in him?
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Gavin Zimbelman can best be described as a “spark plug”
The first thing everybody will zero in on is the size. Zimbelman is only 5’10. Everybody who watches the NFL knows that is short. Most teams don’t like QBs to be any shorter than 6’0 and the preference is 6’3 or taller. The big reason being it’s difficult to see over the tall offensive linemen blocking in front of them. Most of whom range from 6’3 to 6’8. So a 5’10 quarterback is rare.
Those who have success tend to require two key traits. They must be able to move around, using their legs to create open throwing lanes. They must also possess at least decent arm strength. See Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson for examples. Does Gavin Zimbelman fit those categories? Yes, he does. He ran for over 500 yards in 2019 and is a natural scrambler.
As for the arm?
It’s not on the level of Murray or Wilson but he seems able to put some nice zip on it and can heave it 50+ yards without too much effort. He routinely flicked the ball 40 yards down the field on target. It isn’t hard to see why the Bears are interested in him. He is an interesting talent. One they could likely get as an undrafted free agent this April and stash on the depth chart. In time he may become a quality backup.
Do you know what is better than seeing a long shot like him reach the NFL? Betting on him making it. If you want to make some money on such things, be sure to use PointsBet. Two risk-free bets for up to $2000? Use the promo code Mockery and get after it.
