(Photo: © David Banks-Imagn Images, 247Sports)
***LAKE FOREST, Ill.***— Rookie minicamp continues at Halas Hall and for the Chicago Bears, it's an important three days. It's the first time the new coaching staff gets to work with the rookies on the grass, a group featuring eight total draft picks and a bevy of undrafted free agents, all of whom are eager to make a good first impression.
For the Bears, one of the most intriguing players this spring is 56th overall pick Ozzy Trapilo. The 6-foot-8 tackle from Boston College has drawn rave reviews so far, generating some excitement about his potential in his first year with the franchise.
As Trapilo continues to get acclimated to life in the NFL, the coaching staff has made it clear that for a player of his caliber, they'll let the entire process play out. That means that over the next few weeks, into OTA's and mandatory minicamp, Chicago will continue seeing where Trapilo's best fit on offense is.
"My main goal is to go out there, and who I am as a player, just put it out there," said Trapilo. "Let the coaches make decisions of where, when, how I fit with whatever it is. That's their job. My job is to demonstrate who I am as a player, put all my skills out there."
One of the challenges of experimenting with Trapilo is figuring out his versatility, his best trait. While he primarily played right tackle in college, Trapilo's been focusing on playing left tackle as well.
"Throughout college, I knew I wanted to play in the NFL, so doing so, you have to be versatile," said Trapilo. "That's the quickest way to get on the field. So after practice, even though I was a right tackle the last two years in college, working left, making sure that it's still smooth, that it still feels good. Especially after the season, I was working even more left than right just because catching up for lost time."
And part of that could include seeing if he's ready to start at left tackle, unseating veteran Braxton Jones in the process.
While he was primarily a right tackle in college, Trapilo has continued to adjust to playing left tackle, training himself to become used to the different techniques needed to play on the left side.
"In a way if you're more used to playing right tackle at speed and you're still consistent with left, you feel good at left, it's almost easier when you're learning new technique because you don't get into that flow state," said Trapilo. "In a way it feels smoother, it feels easier to adapt to this new coaching style, new techniques and all of the above."
The Bears will return to Halas Hall on Sunday for the final practice of rookie minicamp and the reality is that for a player of Trapilo's caliber, he'll have a chance to prove that he can learn to play left tackle at a high level in order to see the field quickly during the 2025 season.
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