Seems like it should be really straightforward to determine if this hypothesis is right by measuring bradykinin levels in Covid patients versus non-Covid patients.
One thing that I think strongly suggests that this hypothesis is wrong is that there is no strong relation between ACE-inhibitors and Covid mortality. Indeed, most of the studies that I've seen suggest that ACE-inhibitors have a somewhat protective effect whereas ARBs actually seem to have a minor detrimental effect [1]. So for the article to claim that covid behaves pharmacologically like ACE-inhibitors seems wrong at face value.