The NFL Combine is one week away, and it’s there that the NFL world will get together to lay their eyes on hundreds of incoming rookies. The Combine also affords teams the opportunity to speak with players one-on-one to get a sense of who they are as people. Teams also get the chance to get together to talk trade possibilities, and the frameworks for future deals could be set.
Suffice it to say, it’s an important week as teams gear up for the draft. Things will change once everyone heads home from Indianapolis. But as a way to mark where things stand heading into the Combine, NFL.com draft expert Daniel Jeremiah released his second mock draft of the year on Tuesday. Here’s what he has the Bears doing in the first round of the 2024 draft. It should be noted that Jeremiah did not include potential trades in this mock draft.
NO. 1 OVERALL: CALEB WILLIAMS - QUARTERBACK - USC
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“There will be a lot of debate about what the Bears should do with this pick leading up to the draft, but I still think Williams makes the most sense for them here,” Jeremiah wrote.
For weeks, a growing consensus from national NFL writers and draft experts has said that Williams will be the pick for the Bears with the top selection in the draft. It’s easy to understand why. Williams is one of the most exciting quarterback prospects in years. We haven’t heard discourse around a quarterback like this since Joe Burrow in 2020 or maybe even Andrew Luck back in 2012.
Williams’ playmaking potential is off the charts and by drafting him, the Bears would delay the oft-discussed “quarterback clock.” If the Bears stick with Fields on the other hand, they’d have to pay him a projected $22 million in 2025 per OverTheCap, and probably ~$40 million per year after that.
NO. 9 OVERALL: ROME ODUNZE - WIDE RECEIVER - WASHINGTON
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“To me, it will be a home run draft for the Bears if they pick Williams at No. 1 and then land Odunze here,” wrote Jeremiah. “This would transform their offense.”
Odunze is listed at 6’3” and 215 lbs. so his frame would complement DJ Moore who’s listed at 5’11” and 210 lbs. He’s big, fast, reliable and one of the best deep threats in the nation. Few players can match his resume from 2023 among WRs with 100 targets: 1,639 yards (1st), 74 first downs (1st), 21 contested catches (1st), 75% contested catch rate (1st), 15.5 yard average depth of target (2nd), 13 TDs (t-4th), 3.2% drop rate (6th).