The Chicago Bears did a great job of solidifying the roster with talent across the board, leaving few holes as they enter the 2024 NFL draft. That is good news because the team has a couple of premium draft picks, but outside of that, they do not have an abundance of picks.
The Bears have four draft picks this year, and when you look at their roster, they have four pressing needs that have to be addressed. If they do not trade back or add any other picks, what is the best case for filling these needs? For this mock draft, we used the PFF mock draft simulator to get the pool of players.
Round 1, Pick 1: Caleb Williams, Quarterback, USC
This one is going to be obvious. The Chicago Bears purposefully left the biggest hole on the roster at quarterback for a reason. Justin Fields is gone, and while they have Tyson Bagent and Brett Rypien, those two are perfect for the backup and third-string roles.
This leaves them needing a starter. While some fans will still try to make the case for Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, and maybe even J.J. McCarthy, we all know that this will not happen. The Bears are going to draft Caleb Williams, and that will kick off the perfect start to draft night.
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Round 1, Pick 9: Rome Odunze, Wide Receiver, Washington
The best case for the Chicago Bears is to see Rome Odunze fall to nine. It is nothing against Odunze, but most people have him as the third-best wide receiver in this draft class. So, we can safely assume that both Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers are going to be off of the board by pick nine. That is the only thing that is causing Odunze to potentially fall that far.
If he does, talk about a huge win. D.J. Moore can win all areas of the field, but he is strong as an outside receiver who wins after the catch with the ball in his hands. Keenan Allen is typically going to play the slot. Odunze has been known to be an outside receiver who wins vertically down the field and has big plays with the ball in the air, out-reaching defenders.
When you put the three of them together, it is a perfect alignment of talent. He checks the box of a need; he is an obvious fit, and it makes Caleb Williams even happier. This is the best thing that could happen on the Thursday of draft night.
Round 3, Pick 75: DeWayne Carter, Defensive Tackle, Duke
The Chicago Bears still need to replace Justin Jones. Yes, both Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens are going to step into bigger roles next year, but at the same time, they cannot replace all of the snaps that Jones brought them.
So, while the Bears can afford to replace him with a lesser-valued asset, they still have to replace him at some point. One of the best cases would be seeing DeWayne Carter fall to them in the third round.
Carter is a highly athletic defensive tackle who can shoot out of his stance and penetrate gaps with ease.
Carter can lack power in some areas and may have a role similar to Gervon Dexter last year, where he mainly plays pass rush downs. Still, if Pickens and Dexter are expected to see more run-defense downs, then this should fit them well.
This is also what will cause him to fall into this spot. Still, getting the potential and upside of a player similar to Dexter at a later slot in this draft should be looked at as a win. This would be an excellent fit.
Round 4, Pick 122: Cedric Johnson, Edge Rusher, Ole Miss
The Bears hit a lot of their primary needs, but you know that fans would be screaming for an edge rusher if they went with the three picks we already highlighted, and they did not draft one yet. So, this makes the selection of Cedric Johnson easy.
While the team needs an edge rusher at some point, there is a case to be made for pushing this off until the fourth round. The Bears have Montez Sweat, and while DeMarcus Walker is not a high-end starter, you can get away with him next to Sweat. The team added Jacob Martin, so there is depth. Still, Dominique Robinson was essentially phased out last season, and as the fourth edge rusher, they have to try to replace him or at least bring in competition.
Cedric Johnson may never be a high-end pass rusher, but he should get drafted around this point because he has the length and power to set the edge as a run defender. It sets a floor for his development and gives the Bears something they typically already look for out of their edge rushers.
Maybe in a perfect draft, they hit this earlier, but Johnson is the perfect fit to rotate with Martin as the third rusher. With the three picks made ahead of Johnson, it would be hard for Chicago Bears fans to be mad at this mock draft.