People weren't sure how to react when the Chicago Bears signed Ledarius Mack back in April. On the one hand, it was interesting. Here's a guy who is the little brother of the best player on the roster in Khalil Mack. Everybody knows bloodlines can run deep in professional sports. At the same time, the kid was an undrafted free agent out of Buffalo. So how good can he actually be?
Khalil himself was glowing in his reviews, saying the younger Mack stood out on practice film quite often. Outside linebackers coach Ted Monachino loves the kid's swagger, saying he carries himself "like he's 10 feet tall." Thus far though the updates from training camp have been rather limited. Probably because so much attention is being paid to the quarterback battle along with the elder Mack and new running mate Robert Quinn.
One man though who's had an up-close view of Ledarius the past two weeks is Tom Thayer. The former Bears guard and current color analyst was discussing the outside linebackers on the "Position Breakdown" series for YouTube. When the rookie came up in the conversation, Thayer had a lot of praise for him.
"You know Ledarius Mack? He's got some moves. He's got some moves that I haven't seen Khalil use yet. So I'm interested to see if he gets an opportunity to be here as a practice squad player or a special teamer. He's got the speed, he's got the thickness, and he's got the size that you like."
Ledarius Mack will remain a mystery until 2021
The sad reality is no Bears fan will see the younger Mack in action this season. That became clear when the preseason was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This automatically limited his opportunities to make an impression. This is why Thayer assumes he'll likely end up on the practice squad. A fair assessment give it was expanded to 16 players this year.
Not until 2021 when hopefully the preseason returns will Ledarius have a shot to show what he can do. Then again he could accelerate that process depending on how he looks to the coaches in practice. A surefire way to move up the ladder is on special teams. That was never his thing in college but he's more than athletic enough to handle it.
Either way, this kid is already making some noise.
