Getty Bears legend Devin Hester was 24 years old when he was drafted in 2006.
Former Chicago Bears return specialist Devin Hester holds multiple NFL records, including most punt return touchdowns in a single season (4), most combined return touchdowns (20) and most total punt return touchdowns (14).
The Bears selected Hester out of Miami (FL) in Round 2 of the 2006 NFL Draft (57th overall). He was initially drafted as a cornerback, but the team made one of its better decisions in recent decades and elected to use Hester as a return specialist instead. Hester became arguably the best return man in NFL history. Hall of Fame defensive back and return specialist Deion Sanders thinks so.
“There’s no man that was feared more than Devin Hester with a ball in his hands on special teams,” Sanders told Sports Illustrated in February of 2022. “And that’s coming from me.”
Former Bears scout Greg Gabriel, who spent nearly a decade with the team, took to Twitter to remind fans that those concerned about the age of one rookie in particular — Velus Jones Jr. — should consider Hester’s age when he entered the draft.
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Gabriel: Age Won’t Hurt Velus Jones
Much fuss was made about Jones’ age (he turned 25 in May) when he was drafted — so much so that it has become a running joke for fans and analysts on social media:
Jokes aside, Gabriel says those who think the wideout’s age will be a factor in his performance or anything else are mistaken.
Gabriel, who also spent 16 seasons in the New York Giants‘ scouting department, was leading Chicago’s college scouting department when the Bears drafted Hester, so he knows the legendary return man well. Hester, like Jones, was also 24 years old when he was drafted, and Gabriel doesn’t think being older than most of his peers will “hurt” Jones at all:
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Jones Had Strong Thoughts on His Age
On the July 7 episode of The Sick Podcast With Adam Rank, Jones spoke to Rank about all the chatter surrounding him being a 25-year-old rookie, and it’s clear he’s looking to prove his doubters wrong.
“Me being 25 is not going to stop me from running past people to score touchdowns and stuff like that,” Jones told Rank. “I’m going to be fast for a long time, strong for a long time, and making plays for a long time. So it’s really irrelevant.”
Jones also noted he has zero red flags injury-wise, which is huge in the NFL.
“Honestly, I have the body of like a 21- or 22-year-old,” Jones added. “Some guys have a lot of injuries in college and that you know are going to take punishment in the NFL, but I’m healthy as … like a baby horse. I’m healthy as all get out. That (age) is irrelevant, you know people gonna talk about it. I only can control what I can control, so they can just stay tuned on that.”
If Jones can stay healthy, he’ll have a chance to showcase his 4.31 speed often in a Bears offense with myriad question marks at WR. We’ll see how it goes.
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