The Bears will inevitably have some thinking to do when their turn rolls around in the 2024 NFL Draft for the No. 9 pick.
Especially, if one of the names strongly attached to them --- Rome Odunze --- goes off the board first. ESPN's Matt Miller said "Don't be surprised" if the Washington receiver is the second one off the board.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Hypothetically, if we're connecting the dots correctly, that could leave one of either Marvin Harrison Jr. --- or more likely --- LSU's Malik Nabers left on the board. That's also assuming a team behind an Odunze pick doesn't realize the same thing and drafts him before the Bears.
In that scenario, it's all the more likely the Bears would trade down, according to Todd McShay. He reported the Bears would be more inclined to stay if one of Odunze or Nabers fell to the No. 9 pick. If not, they'd likely trade down.
Remember, the Bears have just four picks --- the fewest of any NFL team --- in the draft. The belief is, too, that the value for later first-round edges surpasses those at the top; Jared Verse, Byron Murphy, Laiatu Latu, etc. could be in play.
But Odunze, as aforementioned, has been the name most prominently attached to the Bears.
Bears News
He met with the Bears for a top-30 visit. And recently, Odunze and Caleb Williams met up with Bears receivers DJ Moore and Keenan Allen in Los Angeles for a throwing session.
Odunze prognosticated the prowess a Bears offense including him and Williams could have on the Under Center podcast, too.
“I think it would be explosive, honestly," Odunze said of teaming up with Williams in Chicago. There are a lot of weapons on that field, and it would be hard for any defense to stop that honestly with any sort of double coverage or focusing on one defender, kind of like exactly what I had in Washington. I know how to fit into something like that.”
Odunze and Williams have talked about teaming up in Chicago, too.
"Yeah, definitely," Odunze said on the latest episode of The Under Center Podcast when asked if he and Williams have discussed teaming up. "I think he's a fan of my wide-receiver play, and I'm a fan of his quarterback play. We've chatted very smally about the possibility of it. Going into Chicago and not with any timidness but going in there to play ball and make an immediate impact which I think would be awesome if it ends up being the situation that both of us are in.