5 takeaways for the Chicago Bears from Daniel Jeremiah's Mock Draft 1.0

With the NFL postseason slowly coming to an end, it's officially that much closer to the 2024 NFL Draft. Considering the Chicago Bears' season ended on Jan 7th, 2024, the Bears have fewer distractions to worry about between now and the draft.

Now, distractions being playoff games, I wouldn't necessarily mind if the Bears had a distraction from time to time, but beggars can't be choosers.

The Chicago Bears should pay (some) attention to Daniel Jeremiah's Mock Draft 1.0

With the NFL Draft coming up soon-ish, Daniel Jeremiah's Mock Draft 1.0 is officially live. Jeremiah is one of the bigger names who I find to be pretty consistent in his evaluation of players. Sometimes they don't always go where he predicts them to, but the evaluation is usually pretty money.

And while Ryan Poles likely has his scouts and himself making the assessments of prospects coming into the draft, there are at least five takeaways from DJ's Mock Draft 1.0 that the Chicago Bears could use in their preparation for the 2024 NFL Draft.

Mock drafts are, really, just people making educated guesses of what people think other people will do. And, in case you didn't know, people aren't always the easiest to predict. Especially those who run a football team. The decisions made by some make the whole predicting game a mess.

Will Ryan Poles go by the books as Daniel Jeremiah predicts, or is this mock draft completely and utterly fiction? Well, that answer will come in late April, but there are certainly some takeaways from this mock draft that could help the Chicago Bears in their quest for "... [taking] the North and never giving it back."

Chicago Bears' takeaway No. 1: The Bears don't trade out of No. 1 pick

Since becoming the Chicago Bears' general manager, Ryan Poles has made five draft-day trades.

Poles was hired as the Bears' general manager almost two years ago to the day, and there hasn't been a trade where Ryan Poles hasn't left with more than he walked in with.

Yet, Daniel Jeremiah has Ryan Poles taking Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick.

That isn't the most surprising pick, as Caleb Williams has been touted as being the top prospect of the draft for months; and Daniel Jeremiah saw it that way, too.

This is the pick I'm not too sure about, as it seems like there are three things in this world that are certain: death, taxes, and Ryan Poles trading down in draft on draft day.

But, it seems Daniel Jeremiah thinks otherwise.

Chicago Bears' takeaway No. 2: It's Caleb Williams time in Chicago

I'll be fully transparent; it wasn't as fun to type that title as some of you might think it was.

While I do recognize Caleb Williams is a very talented prospect, that doesn't mean it won't be upsetting to see a prospect who I enjoyed watching more move on from the Chicago Bears. Sure, that sting might ease up if Williams is as advertised.

But, as a fan who doesn't really watch much college football, I'll never forget watching that Sugar Bowl performance by Fields and thinking, "He would be so fun to watch on the Chicago Bears one day."

I was only partially right with that thought.

And there's still a chance Justin Fields stays with the Chicago Bears, but it's becoming seemingly less likely as time goes on.

Per Mock Draft 1.0 by Daniel Jeremiah, Fields is traded away, and Caleb Williams is drafted with the No. 1 pick. It's not mentioned where Fields is traded to, but the short list of teams I'd personally love to watch him on includes the Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks, and Los Angeles Rams.

While they're all NFC teams, they're all teams who seemingly fit the mold that Justin Fields could thrive in.

The NFL is a production business, so Justin Fields being a really good person makes it suck as a human to want to theoretically move on from him. He's clearly a gifted athlete, and if I were to take a swing on what could've gone wrong, my theory is that Fields got over-coached by the wrong people.

Having incredible athletes all around the field with poor coaching above is what gets the Philadelphia Eagles beat 32-9 and the Dallas Cowboys beat 19-12 in the playoffs this year. Players matter, but coaching matters as much, if not more.

Alright, enough about Justin Fields and Caleb Williams. Well — probably not, actually.

Chicago Bears' takeaway No. 3: Which offensive coordinator is running this new offense?

With the Chicago Bears selecting Caleb Williams first overall, and with the Bears having an open offensive coordinator position, which candidate will they go with?

The easy answer is to say, Kliff Kingsbury. He's worked with Caleb Williams. He's also worked with quarterbacks in his career who've had great success under him.

That being said, another candidate who should be seen as a home run hire would be the Seattle Seahawks' Shane Waldron.

Waldron worked with Sean McVay since McVay got to the Rams in 2017, starting as a tight ends coach and working his way to a passing game coordinator. Having a coach who's worked under a proven coach like McVay— while also having done it away from McVay in Seattle— makes Shane Waldron a highly intriguing option.

The third offensive coordinator the Bears could hire who'd have me jumping for joy would be Klint Kubiak from the 49ers.

Kubiak is the pass game coordinator under Kyle Shanahan, and that alone makes Kubiak a choice worth considering. Along with being under the Shanahan tree, Kubiak has experience with a multitude of different talents. He isn't a coach who's only worked with "pocket passers" or only "running quarterbacks," and that's probably very enticing for the Chicago Bears. Their offense has truly lacked identity since my birth, so who knows when that will change.

Something that the Chicago Bears probably learned from their Luke Getsy experience is that, sometimes, coaches can be carried by their players. Maybe it's controversial, but I'm willing to say that Aaron Rodgers and Matt LaFleur did a lot of the heavy lifting in Green Bay.

The Bears, however, took the bait. They aren't doing that again. Right? Right?!

Chicago Bears' takeaway No. 4: The Bears miss out on the top 3 WRs

According to Mock Draft 1.0, there is a run of wide receivers that causes the Bears to walk away from round one without a wide receiver to pair with their new quarterback.

A name that emerged as a common No. 9 selection for the Bears is Rome Odunze from Washington. Odunze is an incredible receiver who would pair perfectly with D.J. Moore, but if Daniel Jeremiah's Mock Draft 1.0 is true, there will only be hypothetical situations where these two receivers have 1,000-yard seasons for life together on the Bears.

In the modern NFL, if a team wants to be at the top of the ranks, having multiple playmakers at receiver is a must. D.J. Moore is clearly an incredible receiver, however, under Luke Getsy's most recent season of work, there really wasn't another receiver who made a big impact.

For example, the Chicago Bears completed 321 passes all season. Of those 321, D.J. Moore caught 96. For those who can't do that math in their head like myself, Moore accounted for 30% of completed passes.

Looking at the other receivers, Darnell Mooney, had fewer receptions than Roschon Johnson, a backup runningback in a three-way rotation. Let's not forget that Darnell Mooney is the second receiver in this offense.

"Oh, Dakota! They probably played the same amount of snaps!"

Ha! I'm one step ahead of you. To Darnell Mooney's 766 offensive snaps, Roschon Johnson had 395 offensive snaps. This isn't a jab at Darnell Mooney, either. Mooney clearly has talent, as he was a 1,000-yard receiver in 2021. It's to show that the system was very poor in Chicago last season, and Darnell Mooney was a victim of it.

System matters just as much as talent. But along that same line, if the Bears miss out on the top three receivers, Poles better have a laundry list of receivers outside the top guys who can offer as much support.

Chicago Bears' takeaway No. 5: The Bears give Montez Sweat his powerful apprentice

On another pick Ryan Poles doesn't trade out of [press X to doubt] Daniel Jeremiah mocks Jared Verse to the Chicago Bears at No. 9.

Verse is among a few who I've heard be called the best edge rusher/defensive end in this draft. Others in that conversation are Liatu Latu, Dallas Turner, Chop Robinson, and Bralen Trice.

I really don't see the Bears sticking with No. 9 if the top three receivers are off the board. There doesn't seem to be a true alpha at the edge/defensive end class this year, so for Verse to be taken with the No. 9 pick seems less likely than Caleb Williams with No. 1.

That said, Jared Verse has the potential to be a special player in this league, especially alongside Montez Sweat and a defensive-minded Matt Eberflus.

He plays the game viciously. Watching him play football makes me think he hates every person he's ever lined up against. That said, sometimes it seems as if he thinks being stronger and more powerful will win him every rep. Not sure that will win in the NFL, but we'll certainly see.

Now, could the Tez Effect help Verse become the player he's capable of becoming? It seems possible.