After the Chicago Bears let Jack Sanborn go via free agency, this year, many fans were sad to see him go, although the reasoning made sense.
Because the Bears ran far more nickel defense and thus invested in extending Kyler Gordon, it wasn't necessary to pay Sanborn. However, his shoes must be filled, and in a potential move to make that happen, general manager Ryan Poles took his shot on Ruben Hyppolite in the fourth round this year.
Going into minicamp and soon, training camp, Hyppolite has already had to do plenty of defending himself. After all, he was far from being high up on most experts' draft boards.
Now, he gets an opportunity not only to prove himself, but to replace the fan favorite who left to follow Matt Eberflus to Dallas.
Ruben Hyppolite can become another underdog story similar to Jack Sanborn
As Bleacher Report's Alex Ballentine pointed out, the Hyppolite pick was, indeed, an attempt to replace Sanborn. Hyppolite is also Ballentine's pick to be a summer breakout.
"Hyppolite ran a 4.39 at 5'11", 236 pounds. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen was a fan coming out of the predraft process praising his maturity and self-awareness. The move was the biggest use of resources to replace Jack Sanborn as the third linebacker."
The pointing out of Hyppolite's 40-yard dash time is definitely worth another callout. If he wasn't nearly as high on anyone else's boards as he was on Poles, there had to be a reason why. Speed could certainly be that reason.
Now, of course, speed doesn't automatically translate. However, character and grit often do. Similar to Sanborn, Hyppolite has presented himself as a high character player so far. It's those types who often find themselves, at the very least, enjoying a lengthy career as a rotational player or backup.
If Hyppolite winds up being a strong backup and special teams player, then he was well-worth the fourth-round pick. But, if he's also able to learn from the likes of TJ Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds, and ultimately be a starting-caliber player, then Poles will have been proven more than justified.
For now, Sanborn going from undrafted to fan favorite is a story the fan base will remember. Can Hyppolite take a similar path, going from highly doubted to someone the fans fall in love with?