It was a frustrating first few weeks for Ozzy Trapilo. Here he was, a 2nd round pick of the Chicago Bears. Usually, players drafted that high see the field pretty quickly. Instead, he was pretty much deactivated by the coaching staff when the season began. It wasn’t until week four in Las Vegas that he got his opportunity. Darnell Wright was out with an elbow injury. That meant Trapilo would dress for the game. Even so, Theo Benedet played right tackle. Things changed in the 2nd quarter. Left tackle Braxton Jones was benched, forcing the Bears to shift Benedet to that side. Trapilo would go into the game for the first time as a professional.
His first assignment? Block Maxx Crosby.
Talk about a baptism of fire. Facing one of the three or four best pass rushers in the NFL in your first game with no time to adequately prepare must’ve been terrifying. However, you might be surprised. The rookie was asked about it after the game by CHGO. He didn’t sound like somebody who was in awe of Crosby—more like he relished the challenge.
“It felt good,” Trapilo said. “It’s always exciting to be out there. It was a great opportunity. That’s an elite opponent. To be able to go out there and go against him, especially for like my first real offensive reps in the NFL, it was exciting.”
There aren’t many pass rushers like Crosby. But Trapilo now has real game tape to learn from going forward. He’ll need it if Darnell Wright isn’t able to return from his right elbow injury in Week 6 against the Washington Commanders.
After the game, Trapilo said more than once that he was eager to watch the film of his debut. On Tuesday, he had some answers.
“It kind of went about as expected,” Trapilo told CHGO. “It wasn’t perfect. It’s never going to be perfect, but I think in general, it’s a good place to start. There’s going to be plays you wish you had back a couple times. I gave up an edge, got beat on an inside move, but yeah, other than that, I think it was decent. Something to build on.”
His assessment was mostly correct. Outside of two bad reps against Crosby, he held his own, allowing only two pressures in 26 snaps.
Ozzy Trapilo lived up to his scouting report.
The thing mentioned often by analysts was how calm and composed he played. He showed mental maturity with his approach to the game, never letting himself get overwhelmed. If he had bad reps, he’d reset like they never happened. That served him well in his debut. He never let those moments of education from Crosby discourage him. Ozzy Trapilo came back on the next snap and kept battling. That is why the coaches have expressed growing confidence in him. There are rumblings that Ben Johnson wants to get him more involved moving forward. That could prove difficult once Wright returns from his injury. Still, there are ways to sneak extra offensive linemen onto the field. Trapilo will benefit from every snap he can get.
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