Bears Release Incredible Video Of Moment They Drafted Devin Hester
Devin Hester is about to make more NFL history, becoming the first return man to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That is an honor no other player is likely to achieve, which speaks to the incredible impact the former Miami product had on the sport. What nobody ever knew was how the Chicago Bears came around to drafting Hester in the first place. There were various snippets here and there, but no hard evidence of how it went down. That finally changed when the organization released a video clip from the 2006 draft, showing then-GM Jerry Angelo and his front office people debating who to take with the 57th overall pick.
Initially, the arguments were whether they should select Hester with their first 2nd round pick at 42nd overall or Abilene Christian safety Danieal Manning. Chicago opted for Manning. As luck would have it, Hester was still on the board when the Bears went on the clock again. The video shows Angelo and scouts Chris Ballard, Mark Sadowski, and Jeff Shiver debating who to take at that spot. They felt Hester had the highest ceiling, but there were two other players they liked. One was Fresno State cornerback Richard Marshall, and the other was Ohio State defensive back Ashton Youboty.
How they arrive at their answer is a fascinating process to watch.
Devin Hester didn’t work out exactly as planned.
Initially, the Bears had hoped he would develop into a quality cornerback. His special teams prowess was considered a good fallback option. In the end, Hester never became a corner. He instead shifted to wide receiver, where he had a decent career while also casually becoming the greatest return man ever. Marshall ended up becoming the better cornerback, carving out a solid career primarily with Carolina in which he collected 18 interceptions in nine seasons. Youboty ended up going early in the 3rd round, playing six seasons and doing little of note.
Devin Hester is actually the first player of his draft class to reach the Hall of Fame. One can safely assume other members like Andrew Whitworth, Haloti Ngata, and Jahri Evans may soon join him. The fact he is in the same conversation as those legends speaks to his impact, even if his career didn’t last as long. It is once again proof that quality beats quantity every time. Angelo gets a lot of grief for his mistakes as Bears GM, but nobody can deny he had some absolute home runs. Hester might be his masterstroke.