Chicago Bears 2024 NFL draft picks: Future is in Caleb Williams’ hands

The 2024 NFL draft wrapped up Saturday.

Here is a look at each of Chicago’s selections:

My take: The Bears hope Williams will end their decades-long search for a franchise quarterback, one that stretches back 85 years to Sid Luckman. He is no doubt an upgrade over the recently traded Justin Fields with his accuracy (66.9 career completion percentage) and ability to operate effectively out of structure by extending drives and making off-platform throws. The Bears place high importance on a quarterback’s effectiveness on third down, in the two-minute drill and during end-of-game situations. Williams does all of those things exceptionally well, and the Bears finally have the right infrastructure in place to develop a rookie quarterback.

Key stats: Speaking of critical downs, Williams’ efficiency isn’t just elite — it’s in another stratosphere. From 2022 to 2023, the quarterback didn’t throw an interception on 199 passing attempts on third and fourth downs. His touchdown-to-interception ratio on third down was 16-to-0. Inside the red zone, Williams’ efficiency ballooned to a 46-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. And no matter the down and distance, Williams’ ability to protect the football became one of his best traits, as he totaled just 14 interceptions in three years at Oklahoma and USC.

Will he start as a rookie?: Yes. Williams has effectively been QB1 in Chicago since Fields was traded to Pittsburgh on March 18. The Bears need a quarterback whose play will elevate the players around him. The bar is low, but the Bears have never had a quarterback throw for 4,000 yards and/or 30 touchdowns in a season. Williams should be expected to reach those thresholds early in his NFL career while being tasked with putting the Bears on a playoff trajectory.

Round 1, No. 9 overall: Rome Odunze, WR, Washington

My take: It’s hard to argue that the Bears don’t have one of the league’s best wide receiver trios between DJ Moore, who put up a career-best 1,364 yards last season (sixth in the NFL), Keenan Allen, whose 1,243 yards were his second most in 11 seasons, and Rome Ozunde, who led college football with 1,640 receiving yards. Chicago’s passing offense should make major strides under new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron with the amount of talented pass-catchers at his disposal, which was set up to help Caleb Williams achieve early success as a rookie. After working out with his new teammates in Los Angeles last week, Odunze can already tell how all the pieces will fit on offense, between Moore’s “explosiveness,” how “smooth” Allen runs his routes, and the fact that the Bears’ new quarterback “can sling the ball wherever he chooses.”

The need he’s helping fill: Coach Matt Eberflus’ biggest concern at wide receiver was the depth the Bears lacked last season. Behind Moore (who also had a career-high eight TDs), no other Chicago wide receiver had more than 414 receiving yards or multiple touchdowns. Two high-end additions this offseason not only answer the depth question, they change the landscape of the Bears’ offense, which could shift toward becoming a pass-first attack. Odunze brings versatility and does a lot of things at a high level, whether he’s using his 6-foot-3 frame to win one-on-ones on the outside, making contested catches (24 in 2023, tied for the most in FBS) or creating separation to win his route.

Let ‘er rip: Williams now has multiple deep-threat options. Odunze notched an FBS-high 21 receptions on throws that gained 20-plus air yards, while Moore was third in the NFL in 2023 with receptions on throws of 20-plus air yards.

Round 3, No. 75 overall: Kiran Amegadjie, OT, Yale

My take: The Bears have selected offensive players with all three picks thus far, which affirms their commitment to strengthening the infrastructure around quarterback Caleb Williams. Amegadije was Yale’s starting right guard in 2021 before transitioning to left tackle as a junior, the position he says he’s most comfortable playing. The 6-foot-5, 326-pound offensive lineman has starting potential and could push Braxton Jones, who has been Chicago’s starting left tackle since 2022. That probably won’t happen in his rookie season, according to GM Ryan Poles, but the Bears have prioritized adding competition along the offensive line this offseason. Despite his 2023 season ending after four games because of a partially torn quad, Amegadije has been medically cleared to play by the Bears.

Is this pick for depth or does it fill a hole?: At the end of the last season, general manager Ryan Poles said he believes Jones is a starting-caliber tackle but did not rule out the team bringing in competition to upgrade the offensive line. If Jones struggles in camp, Amegadije may have a clear path towards protecting Williams’ blind side this fall. At the very least, the third-rounder should win the swing tackle job over Larry Borom.

My take: Taylor was effectively Iowa’s offense last season when he totaled an FBS record 4,479 punting yards and a 48.2-yard average. The Bears used their fourth and final draft pick on the best punter in college football (he won the Ray Guy Award in 2023) and are clearly thinking that Taylor will replace Trenton Gill, who finished last in net average last year (38 yards) by using a pick this high on a specialist. The Australian-born punter didn’t have much contact with the Bears during the pre-draft process, but he hit it off with special teams coordinator Richard Hightower at the combine and is eager to bring his 46.3-yard career punt average — an FBS record — to Soldier Field and kick in the inclement weather conditions he grew accustomed to in college.

Round 5, No. 144 (from Chicago through Buffalo): Austin Booker, DE, Kansas

My take: The Bears traded back into the draft to get back the pick they had sent to Buffalo in March for center Ryan Bates, in the process giving up a 2025 fourth-round selection to bring in an edge rusher. They had a lot of conviction about Booker, who declared early for the draft, after zeroing in on the D-end last fall and watching him excel against the draft’s top offensive tackles at the Senior Bowl. Booker played in 12 games in 2023, totaling a career-best eight sacks, 12 tackles for loss and forced two fumbles, but only had one start. Chicago was enamored with his high-pressure rate (12.1, 2nd in the Big 12) and the fact that he’s only 21 years old with more time to grow into his body as a natural 4-3 defensive end despite playing the majority of his snaps at outside linebacker in college.