The Chicago Bears are set to be one of the more active teams in the early portion of the 2024 NFL draft. The team will be picking first overall and ninth overall. They also will pick 75th and 122nd overall, but those are their only four picks.
It will set up for an interesting weekend, as the team may be moving around the draft boards as they try to potentially gain more picks. However, the roster is in a good spot, and the needs are not huge. If the Bears do stand at their four spots, what is a great outcome for the draft weekend? We used the PFF Mock Draft Simulator for the picks, so the discussion will steer away from whether the players will be there and veer more toward their fit on the roster.
1. Caleb Williams, Quarterback, USC
This one has been set in pen since the Chicago Bears traded Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers for such a small price. They wanted to do right by Fields, and they wanted to do right by Williams by bringing him into a quarterback room that would have him as the undisputed top dog right from the jump.
The team did their homework on Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy, and Jayden Daniels, but it is clear that the highest potential along with a solid base of skills, comes from Williams.
9. Rome Odunze, Wide Receiver, Washington
There are plenty of questions about whether Rome Odunze could really fall to the ninth overall pick or not. On one side of the argument, it is clear that six players are going to be drafted ahead of him. Malik Nabers and Marvin Harrison Jr. are consensus wide receivers ranked ahead of Odunze, and there are also four quarterbacks.
So, we just need to see him fall past pick seven and eight. On the flip side, he may be the best player on the board for those two picks, so there is a real chance he does not fall. In this scenario, he did.
One of the really interesting questions would be whether the team would take Brock Bowers if Odunze was gone. Bowers is the next-best pass catcher and maybe the next-best player on the board. Still, the Bears have Cole Kmet, Gerald Everett, and Keenan Allen would primarily be in the slot as well. Odunze, with his presence as a true outside receiver, is a much better outcome.
Now, the question is whether this outcome will happen or not.