The draft is over, and it is time to pick up all the wrapping paper and decide which toy you want to play with first.
The draft’s first night was the most important and paid off. Caleb Williams was one of many drama-free picks. I was ready for the carnage of trade offers, but the Bears played things correctly. The next four picks went as they have been mocked for months. When Joe Alt went fifth, I knew Rome Odunze could be available at nine. We just needed one more quarterback to go. Nabers went sixth, and then the second offensive tackle went seventh, and I was ready for Rome Odunze because the Falcons wouldn’t be crazy enough to pick another offensive weapon at eight.
That’s when the most significant shock of the draft happened. My oldest is a Falcons fan and was sitting right next to me when the Atlanta Falcons took the fourth quarterback of the night, Michael Penix Jr. We were in shock. This team just signed the most desirable free-agent quarterback to a four-year $180 Million deal. It was hard to process the logic of the pick, but I knew that meant Rome Odunze was going to the Bears. And I was right.
There was my usual Bears panic feeling that we would screw something up. But they went down the barrel and took a wide receiver who could easily be the top one in other drafts.
The Bears’ offense is now Caleb Williams, DeAndre Swift, Cole Kmet, DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, and Rome Odunze. Their offensive line got a project with a third-round pick, and then we got the best punter in the world with their fourth-round selection.
I assumed the draft was over, as the Bears had used all their picks. Only to find out later that the team traded a fourth-round pick in 2025 for the right to select Kansas’ Austin Booker in the fifth round. He’s a top-ten edge rusher and the perfect bookend to the Bears’ draft.
The NFL schedule will be released in two weeks, and around two weeks after that, we will see if the Chicago Bears will be on Hard Knocks for the first time in their history.
But for now, I am truly excited about the Bears’ 2024 season.
