NEWSLETTER
This is where I am after three weeks of football: Ready to turn my attention to the 2024 NFL Draft. Sigh.
NFL history books are filled with pages about teams that turned it around to make the playoffs after 0-3 starts. It’s just that I do not believe the 2023 Chicago Bears will be adding their own page to that particular chapter. They’re winless through three games, rank 27th in scoring offense, 31st in scoring defense, 29th in yards gained (and 29th in yards allowed), and are straight-up having a bad time right now. You’d think this would be rock bottom if you didn’t have this sick feeling in your stomach that these Bears are essentially falling down a bottomless pit.
So, despite there being 14 more games left on the Bears’ schedule, I’m ready to start watching college football with the intent to get an early start on the pre-draft process.
At least this draft class looks like it is loaded at the top. Plus, it’s looking increasingly likely that Chicago will have not one but TWO top-10 picks. As of right now, the possibility of having a pair of top-5 picks looks more realistic than I could’ve ever imagined:
What can the Bears do with the top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft?
Caleb Williams is the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, college football’s best player, and will be one of the most highly ballyhooed quarterback prospects ever. I have no doubt he will be the No. 1 pick when he enters the NFL Draft. If the Bears have the pick and he is available, then they should take him. Don’t overthink it.
As for questions regarding how that might negatively impact Justin Fields, figure that out later. Or figure it out before you go on the clock with the first pick. Let’s face it, if the Bears are picking first then it means that Fields wasn’t good enough to lift them up from being that bad.
While Williams will be eligible to come out for the 2024 NFL Draft, I suppose NIL money could keep him at USC for another season. Although, NIL money might pale in comparison to what Williams would get as the first overall pick in next spring’s NFL Draft. As a point of reference, Bryce Young’s rookie deal came with $37,955,074 in guarantees and included a signing bonus worth $24,603,688 according to OverTheCap.com. I’m not sure there are enough NIL bucks to lure Williams back for another season.
Yes, I’ve been reading my mentions, DMs, and quote tweets after posting the tweet above. And I see your concerns about drafting a quarterback. Just know that I think they’re all foolish and silly. Sure, the Bears have never (ever) developed a quarterback. Nope, they’ve never put the proper infrastructure around one either. However, that doesn’t mean the Bears should stop trying. So if Caleb Williams is on the board, then this franchise better turn over every stone on him (and all quarterback prospects) before going on the clock with their first pick. Anything less would be doing a disservice to your franchise and your fanbase.
OK, but what about the other top-5 pick?
Getting Bears fans to come to a consensus on whether or not the team should take Caleb Williams is going to be tough enough. With that being said, I don’t expect this fanbase to agree on what they should do with the other projected top-5 pick the team will have at its disposal. For instance, the Tankathon mock draft has Chicago selecting Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. with the fourth overall pick. MHJ is the No. 2 player on Tankathon’s big board and is a transcendent receiver prospect. Coming away from Day 1 of the NFL Draft with Williams and Harrison is the type of thing that could put this rebuild on the fast track. But it isn’t the only route the Bears can take.
Offensive tackle prospects Joe Alt (Notre Dame) and Olu Fashanu (Penn State) are also on the board when Tankathon’s mock sends Harrison to Chicago. Fashanu, who was on our radar last year before he went back to campus, is the site’s No. 1 offensive tackle prospect and is No. 3 overall. Alt is the second-highest-ranked offensive tackle prospect and sixth overall. Jared Verse (Florida State) is the No. 1 edge rusher in this class, but he goes off the board to the Vikings with the third pick. Maybe Illinois defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton piques your interest. Perhaps Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry is someone on your radar. But however you want to slice it, the Bears seem to be positioning themselves to land two elite prospects at positions of need in the 2024 NFL Draft. Doing so would be a silver lining on the dark cloud hovering above this franchise.
