NEWSLETTER
Mel Kiper Jr. mock drafts tend to be more sourced and less about his own evaluations. It is among the reasons why I follow them obsessively this time of year.
And when it comes to the Chicago Bears, Mel has been pretty spot on with his mock drafts. Specifically, the ones he drops this time of year.
Hear me out:
My apologies for continuing to come back to this, but I can’t shake it. If once counts as luck, twice is considered a coincidence, and three times is a trend, then what is it when you nail four-in-a-row? Perhaps we’ll find out.
With that being said, I offer up the follow: ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.’s early-mid mock drafts have nailed the Chicago Bears selection in each of the last two NFL Drafts. And I can’t ignore trends that are staring me in the face.
Now that I’ve set the table, this is where I share that Mel has the Bears taking University of Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze with the No. 9 overall pick:
This would be a dream scenario for the Bears, right? They would be adding an elite wideout on a rookie contract to play with Keenan Allen and DJ Moore, and they wouldn’t have to move up from No. 9 to do it. Remember that Allen is a free agent in 2025, so wide receiver is a bigger need for Chicago than it might seem. The 6-3 Odunze was a nightmare for defenses to deal with in college. He had 92 catches last season, 23 of which came on vertical routes, the most in the FBS, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Kiper also has the Bears taking USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the first overall pick because duh. And I’m with Mel here in thinking that it would be a dream scenario to pair Williams with a high-profile fellow rookie at wideout. Plus, putting that receiver in a room with pros like D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen makes this a soft landing for a first-year pass-catcher. So often, we see rookie receivers have to carry more of the burden than they’re ready to in Year 1. That pressure won’t be there for Odunze, who can ease his way into things as he learns alongside Allen and Moore.
Let me be clear. I’m not saying Mel Kiper Jr. is going to be right again. But I certainly won’t complain if he is. The Bears adding Odunze would be awesome. The UW receiver already met with the Bears at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis *AND* at Halas Hall. The team must like what it sees from the Consensus All-American and two-time first-team All-Pac-12 player.
Is this the year Mel Kiper Jr.’s Bears draft streak comes to an end? Or is this a trend that will continue for a fourth straight year?
The NFL Draft is 13 days away. And while I am obviously excited to see who the Chicago Bears use their picks on, one of my favorite things about where we are today is that we are one step closer to the end of mock draft season.
Don’t get me wrong. I love how much information we’ve been able to glean about prospects, fits, and team needs during the obsessive mock following period. However, there are just so many. And the noise gets to be a little much as you try to sort through what’s worth it and what isn’t. But this is where I circle back to re-share the good news that this is traditionally the time of year when mock drafts start to take a turn from being more of an informative exercise in getting to know prospect names and become something that resembles a predictive method connecting teams, players, and fits for both.
This isn’t to say that mocks you’ll see between now and when the draft opens up will hit every pick. Mock draft accuracy and Stormtrooper accuracy have a lot in common. So playing that game would be a fool’s errand. But the mock drafts that will drop in the coming days tend to do a good job in connecting teams and position fits, as well as player types with certain teams. It is a fascinating thing to follow if you have the time, energy, and patience to do so. And if you don’t, I’ll be here for you sharing stuff that passes the smell test.
