ESPN’s Mel Kiper and Field Yates post a three-round mock draft. Here’s how the Bears draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
We are almost a week away from the start of the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit.
Before the draft, ESPN NFL analysts Mel Kiper and Field Yates published a three-round joint mock draft. They each take turns drafting pick-by-pick, starting with the Bears at No. 1.
Here’s how they lined up for the Bears through three rounds.
No. 1: Caleb Williams, quarterback, USC
Kiper signed for the Bears first with the No. 1 pick. Like his last mock draft, he selected Williams to become the Bears’ new signal caller.
Here’s what Kiper wrote about Williams in his previous draft.
“I don’t think we need to spend much time debating the direction the Bears will go here. Justin Fields is gone and Williams is clearly the best quarterback in this class. With Keenan Allen, DJ Moore and Cole Kmet as his top three targets, he will have a chance to hit the ground running in a way Bryce Young couldn’t in Carolina last season.
“Williams is a supreme talent with arm strength, accuracy and improvisation skills at the highest level, both inside and outside the pocket. Chicago does not have a second-round pick following the trade for edge rusher Montez Sweat in October, so it has to make a difference. Add high ceiling starter with selection #9.
“The question is, will you go with Williams help on offense or an edge rusher to play on the other side of Sweat?”
Pick No. 9: Rome Odunze, wide receiver, Washington
Once again, like Kiper’s previous mock draft, he called up Odunze for the Bears.
“I like this matchup with Williams, although I was also thinking about an offensive lineman or edge rusher,” Kiper wrote in this mock draft. “Odunze could be a star. This is how Chicago can make Williams succeed as a rookie.”
Pick No. 75: Kiran Amegadjie, offensive tackle, Yale
No edge rushers through the first three rounds for the Bears in this mock draft.
As Kiper said in his blurb about Odunze, he was considering an edge rusher or offensive tackle with the No. 9 pick, but he opted for a wide receiver. He fulfilled one of those needs with Yale’s Amegadjie.
“Amegadjie played just four games last season after tearing his quad muscle in October, but he has intriguing attributes at 6-foot-4,” Kiper wrote. “I was thinking about an edge rusher for the Bears, but there won’t be many playing early in this series. I’d rather take a flier on Amegadjie.”
If the Bears want to take an edge rusher, there appears to be a better value towards the end of the first round. Should the Bears become uninterested in available players with the No. 9 pick, they could trade back, earn assets in return and draft a coveted edge rusher there.
That’s exactly what the Bears do in Insider Josh Schrock’s mock draft, which you can find here. Be sure to check it out as he completes the entire draft for the Bears.
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