If you’re going to stand out from the herd in a rookie minicamp tryout, it helps to have one unique quality.
The Bears are giving a shot to such a guy, who impressed them with his raw speed.
Via Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bears signed three rookies from their tryouts — North Dakota State punter Ben LeCompte, Connecticut defensive end Kenton Adeyemi and Colorado State-Pueblo wide receiver Kieren Duncan.
During the pre-draft process, Duncan reportedly ran a hand-timed 4.25-second 40, which adjusted down to 4.32 when timed electronically.
Either way, he’s blazing fast, even if he hasn’t shown too much yet. He caught 36 passes for 622 yards (17.3 per catch) and six touchdowns last season. He also averaged 30.1 yards per kickoff return last year for the Division II ThunderWolves.
Considering the extreme long-shot nature of his even being on a 90-man roster — and the declining importance of kickoff returns in general — it might not be a big deal. But the Bears saw enough of him in a hurry to decide to keep him around.