2024 NFL Draft Grades: Chicago Bears

Day 1 grade: A
Day 2 grade: A-
Day 3 grade: B-

Analysis: Williams and Odunze, combined with DJ Moore and Keenan Allen, could give the Bears their best passing attack since the merger. The second-round pick that was dealt to Washington for Montez Sweat should pay off now that his contract has been extended. Amegadjie should contribute as a backup in 2024 and has potential to start down the road.

Taylor has a good leg and had plenty of reps at Iowa, but I believe picking him in the fourth round was a reach. Booker has potential as an edge rusher, but the Bears had to give up a 2025 fourth-round selection to get him because they had unloaded their other Day 3 picks in previous trades. They improved their interior offensive line by sending a fifth-round pick to Buffalo for Ryan Bates earlier this offseason.

Top needs entering the draft: Quarterback, edge defender, wide receiver, offensive tackle

The Bears came into Round 1 with a chance to change the trajectory of their franchise. After years -- decades, even -- of quarterback futility, they traded away Justin Fields, clearing the path to take Caleb Williams at No. 1, the pick they received a year ago when they decided to stick with Fields and move out of the top spot with the Panthers. Chicago also owned the No. 9 pick, but the reality is it had just two other selections headed into the draft, the fewest of any team in the league. Sure, GM Ryan Poles has had a nice offseason, filling holes in free agency and via trades, but how much better could the Bears get with just four picks?

Williams, the No. 1 player on my Big Board, is an elite talent who will be surrounded by a great group of playmakers, which now includes wideout Rome Odunze (9), who finished No. 4 on my Big Board. As I wrote Thursday night, he's going to be able to hit the ground running in Chicago. This is a fantastic start to the draft for Poles.

After that, Poles was able to add a fifth-rounder but still had only five picks. Kiran Amegadjie (75) is a project offensive tackle coming off a partially torn quad injury. His physical traits are intriguing. I didn't love a team with only a handful of selections taking a punter in Round 4, but at least Tory Taylor (122) was the best at his position. Austin Booker (144) had eight sacks last season and could be a situational pass-rusher.

Chicago didn't have the capital to fully help both its offense and defense in this draft, and as a result, the other side of the ball needs some work. With Williams leading the way, though, the offense will be incredibly fun to watch in 2024.

I LOVE THE BEARS' DRAFT SO MUCH THAT THEIR DECISION TO PICK A PUNTER IN THE FOURTH ROUND DOESN'T EVEN FAZE ME. Chicago nabbed a potential franchise cornerstone in quarterback Caleb Williams (my top-ranked player) with the top overall pick before turning around and getting Williams a long-term no. 1 receiver in Rome Odunze (my no. 6 player overall) with the ninth pick. I liked Chicago's selection of Yale offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie in the third. He's a supremely athletic prospect with excellent length and a sky-high ceiling; he just needs some time to develop and make a jump to tougher competition. The team's fifth-round flier on Austin Booker makes a ton of sense, too. Booker is long, athletic, and twitched up and already has a repertoire of pass-rush moves. This could be the class that turns the Bears back into an NFL powerhouse team.

Duh. They got this draft's best player, USC QB Caleb Williams, off the top and — perhaps — its next best in Washington WR Rome Odunze at No. 9. Kudos to GM Ryan Poles for the forward-looking trade of the No. 1 pick last year to Carolina, a deal that ultimately netted the franchise-shifting selection of Williams — opportunity being the convergence of luck and preparation and all that. There's more. Last season's trade deadline move for DE Montez Sweat for a second-rounder was the right call, expensive as it was. Round 5 pass rusher Austin Booker from Kansas has a chance to really shine on an already fortified defense. Even impressive Iowa P Tory Taylor is a weapon — and one getting some early ribbing from Williams.

New Bears punter Tory Taylor said he got this text from Caleb Williams: "Hey, you're not going to punt too much here."

— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) April 27, 2024

As Poles said, "It's gonna be really hard to make this team." And that was before the draft. Salute.

The Bears had as good of a draft as they could possibly hope for. They got their quarterback of the future in Caleb Williams and a potential star receiver in Rome Odunze, instantly making him one of, if not the best, No. 3 WR in the league. Chicago's offense now boasts Odunze with veterans DJ Moore and Keenan Allen, as well as D'Andre Swift, Cole Kmet, Gerald Everett and Williams at the helm. On paper, the Bears look to be one of the most complete teams in the league, especially after grabbing a punter with their last original pick. That was a weird gamble, even if Tory Taylor was the best punter in college football last year at Iowa.

Chicago also finally addressed edge by trading back into the draft in the fifth round to take Austin Booker out of Kansas. I don't think he's the unquestioned answer opposite Montez Sweat but can add to the rotation. The confusing priorities at the end of the draft tack on a minus to what is otherwise a near-perfect draft in the Windy City. —Carmen Vitali

Best Pick: Even though he wasn't my top quarterback, getting Caleb Williams with the first overall pick could change the fate of this franchise. He has all the tools to be a star and could be their first true star passer since Sid Luckman.

Worst Pick: They took a punter in the fourth round in Iowa's Tory Taylor. Why? There are a million punters out there. Plus, that is a luxury pick for a team with only four picks.

The Skinny: Getting Williams and receiver Rome Odunze (ninth overall) will give the Bears a lot of firepower on offense. If Williams can seamlessly step in and be a good starter right away, the Bears will push for a division title. It would have been tough to mess this draft up with the first and ninth picks in the first round, but I didn't love what they did after that.

Analysis: GM Ryan Poles has to be thrilled at the look of his new offense with Williams taking the controls and Odunze joining D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen, D'Andre Swift, and Gerald Everett as his promising mix of skill support. They also got an intriguing pass protector for him in Amegadjie. Taylor docks them for a weird reach, but getting back into the draft to nab Booker was nice. The only key absence of the class is a defensive tackle.

Analysis: Consider me still stunned that the New York Giants did not take Odunze with the No. 6 pick. Either way, this Bears class benefits. Chicago gets a group loaded with star power and attitude. Amegadjie could end up being the steal of this class, and based on how well GM Ryan Poles has mined the lower rungs of the draft for offensive line talent, we could see another deep class for the Bears in a critical season.

And now, the Chicago Bears will once again look to end their 75-year quarterback curse — this franchise hasn't had a league-dominant quarterback since World War II. Caleb Williams will have to rein in some of his rogue tendencies, and I would have selected Jayden Daniels there, but ultimately, Williams has Aaron Rodgers upside without the tinfoil hat nonsense. And Rome Odunze might be the most immediately NFL-ready receiver in this class. Kiran Amegadjie is an athletic marvel with a bit of refinement work to do.

Obviously, Chicago's best pick was Iowa punter Tory Taylor, who may have been the NCAA's most valuable player regardless of position, given the vagaries of the Hawkeyes' offense. The Bears also traded into the fifth round and picked up Austin Booker, an explosive pass disruptor off the edge who will succeed with some schematic help. You'd like more picks here, but the value of this haul is obvious.