The Chicago Bears Won the 2024 NFL Draft

Long-time NFL scout Greg Gabriel believes the Chicago Bears nailed the 2024 NFL Draft.

Every NFL Draft is important for each club, but this particular Draft was extremely important for the Chicago Bears. They had to get it right. Not only did they get it right, but I think they hit a home run with their picks.

Going into the Draft, the Bears’ needs were quarterback, wide receiver, depth for the offensive line, and a pass rusher. They not only filled all those needs but also picked up the best punter available in the last few Drafts.

The Bears went into the Draft with only four picks, two in the first round and a third and fourth-rounder. In order to get that extra pick, the Bears traded their fourth-round pick in 2025 to get a fifth-round pick yesterday. In the mid-rounds, that is an acceptable way of acquiring a draft pick that a club doesn’t have. The key is that they have to have a grade on the player they select be equal to or better than the pick they are giving up. I will discuss that more later, but first, let’s talk about each pick.

QB – Caleb Williams – USC

When we look at talent alone, Caleb is the best and most-ready quarterback to come into the NFL since Andrew Luck in 2012. His arm talent and ability to make different throws, throw off platform, and with accuracy are second to none. There are some concerns that some people around the League have, but so far, Williams has shown that they won’t or shouldn’t be a problem.

The Athletic’s Dan Pompei wrote about those issues about a week ago after interviewing several NFL evaluators and asking them about the intangibles of each of the top Quarterbacks in this Draft. With quarterback play, the intangibles are at least 50% of the evaluation process with quarterbacks. If a quarterback lacks top intangibles, there is a good chance he won’t be successful in the League.

In Dan’s article, the evaluators he interviewed had Caleb Williams rated last in the intangible of the top QBs. So yes, there is a concern in those evaluators’ minds; what were they referring to? The easiest way to put this is that Caleb Williams does things his way, and that way may not conform to what many in the NFL are used to.

Williams is the first top quarterback to enter the League in the NIL period. Because of that, Williams is already a very rich man before he signs his first NFL contract. That has never happened before. We better get used to it because that is going to be the case with several players going forward.

There are some who feel that Williams has a sense of entitlement to him. That may or may not be true, but the fact is he is very confident in everything he does.

Some question his ability to handle adversity. In his first two years of college football, he had nothing but success, but this past season was not like the first two. USC did not perform up to expectations, and much of the blame went on Williams. The reality is that it isn’t fair, as Williams was not responsible for the poor offensive line play or the poor defensive play.

The truth is that Williams probably tried to do too much on offense this year because of the way the defense was playing. When watching tape, we could see several throws underneath that were there, but he passed them up to make the big play that too often didn’t work in 2023. His thought process probably was — We have to score every time we have the ball because the defense gives up so many points. I get his thought process because it was his confidence in his play that helped him get to where he is. Next fall, when he is in the NFL, he has to learn to take what is given. That will bring him success, as he doesn’t have to make the big play each year.

What we have seen from Williams to date is that he is intelligent and mature. He goes out of his way to try and win over his teammates and has done everything right so far. If that continues, the concerns that many have will go away. With the supporting cast he will have here in Chicago, he should turn into one of the better quarterbacks in the League, but that won’t happen overnight. Like with all rookies, that takes time.

WR – Rome Odunze – Washington

The wide receiver class in this Draft was the strongest we have seen in years. Seven receivers were selected in the first round, and a total of 11 in the first two rounds. Depending on what analyst you talked to, Rome was rated as the second or third receiver in this Draft.

Odunze has a complete game in that he is an excellent route runner who can get separation on a consistent basis, has a huge catch radius, and is very good after the catch. He was the go-to receiver for Washington, and they had three wide receivers drafted this weekend. He is the ideal X receiver at 6027 – 212 with 4.45 speed, but his game is so good that he can play any of the three wide receiver positions in the offense. That will allow the Bears offense to create miss-matches in their alignments.

The Bears already had two legitimate number-one receivers, DJ Moore and Keenan Allen. The addition of Odunze makes the receiver corps that much better. It also doesn’t force the Bears into having to extend the recently acquired Allen. Allen will be 32 this season, so he could be one and done for the Bears, as he will command a very expensive contract after this season.

Seeing how new Offensive Coordinator Shane Waldron uses these three receivers will be exciting. With the talent the Bears now have at the position, it will be interesting to see how opponents try to defend them. If Caleb Williams performs as expected, this team will put a lot of points on the Board.

OT – Kiran Amegadjie – Yale

Kiran is a big, strong and athletic tackle. He stands 6050 – 323 with 36″ arms. He did not test at the Combine, but tape shows us what kind of athlete he is. He has excellent quickness, very good feet and agility and plays with natural bend. His hand usage is good in that he is strong and powerful, but he needs to improve his hand placement. That is a coaching item and should be fixed easily.

Kiran dominated Ivy League competition, and because of that, it can be difficult to project him to the NFL level. In the Ivy, he did not play against players that many Power-5 players did in college.

The comp for me with Kiran is none other than current Bears tackle Braxton Jones. Jones came from a low FCS school and played against very average competition. He was raw coming into the League, and because of the program he came from, he wasn’t as physically developed as players from the bigger schools. Despite that, he has started 29 games in his first two years and still hasn’t reached his potential.

Amegadjie is similar to Jones in size, length and athleticism. The other similarity is coming from a lower level FCS program. Their natural traits are there, so it is just a matter of getting used to playing against NFL level competition. Kiran doesn’t have to start as a rookie like Jones had to. He can be developed more slowly. I feel that as a rookie he will be Bears swing tackle and may also get some reps at guard. In 2025, I expect him to be a starter at either tackle or guard. Jones will also start at guard or tackle, and it will give the Bears a big, strong and athletic combo at the two positions,

Some feel the Bears may have “reached” for Kiran. That is nonsense, as the general feeling around the League was he was going to get picked in the third round because of his natural traits and upside. If you look at the selections made after the Bears took Amegadjie, two of the next five picks were tackles. Neither of those two players have the upside that Kiran has.

P – Tory Taylor – Iowa

The Bears had a huge need at defensive end, and many, including myself, felt that was the direction the Bears would go in the fourth round. Being that the fourth-round pick was the Bear’s last pick of the day, it felt obvious. It was a surprise when General Manager Ryan Poles pulled the trigger on a punter instead of a pass rusher. Poles knew he still needed to get an edge and traded a pick next year to get that edge player in the fifth round.

Tory Taylor is a weapon. He may be the best punter to enter the League since 2022 when Buffalo selected Matt Araiza from San Diego State. Araiza has not played in the League yet because of off-field issues but showed in the 2022 pre-season what a powerful leg he has. Taylor has that same type of leg strength. He is a two-step punter who gets off booming kicks with excellent hang time. Having that ability gives the Bears a huge weapon, as he can change field position with every kick. Too often, in the last couple of years, the Bears left their opponents with a short field after punts. With Taylor, that won’t be happening. It was a great pick and even greater when Poles traded back into the Draft a short time later to get a pass rusher.

Edge – Austin Booker – Kansas

I probably watched Kansas play more than any other school in 2023. The reason is that KU Head Coach Lance Leipold is a friend, and the backup quarterback was freshman Cole Ballard, the son of good friend Chris Ballard, the Colts General Manager. In watching early KU games, the player on defense who jumped out was Austin Booker. He was a presence, cutting off the edge with his consistent pressure on the quarterback.

After a couple of games, I became interested and did some research. Austin was a redshirt sophomore and a transfer from Minnesota. He had three years of eligibility remaining, including the 2023 season, so it was a surprise he entered the Draft. In fact, the people at Kansas felt in December that there was no way that Booker would leave.

There is no question that Booker is still raw, but he has limitless upside. He has the required height and length, but his frame is lean, and at the Combine only weighed 240. On tape, he showed relentless motor and natural pass-rush skills. For such a young, inexperienced player, he had advanced moves. He also has excellent flexibility to bend and dip when coming off a block and turning into the QB.

Booker still needs to get bigger and stronger, and he will, but looking at his frame, he may never get any bigger than 255. In the Bears’ defensive scheme, that is plenty big enough, as the defensive ends need to have speed, quickness, and the ability to create pressure, all traits that Booker possesses.

As a rookie, I don’t expect Booker to be more than a designated pass rusher, but in the rotation, that may still get him 50% of the defensive downs. He will create a pass rush opposite Tez Sweat.

After the Bears selected Booker, NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said that had Booker stayed in school another year, he may very well have been a second-round pick next year. Yes, he has that kind of talent! We will have to wait a little before he becomes a complete player, but in the meantime, he will produce in a more limited but productive role.