The 2023 season is over for the Chicago Bears. They're 1-5, and Justin Fields is injured.
Yeah, the worst-case scenario has struck for Bears fans.
It sucks. There's no other way to put it. It's brutal. Awful. Painful. It's the kind of pain that turns you numb after a while. Bears fans are so used to this pain that it's a new normal. A season without pain would be odd at this point.
But as in years past, Chicago Bears fans do have at least one thing to look forward to: the NFL Draft. It's the offseason's Super Bowl, and for this fanbase, it's the closest simulation we've gotten to feeling the euphoria of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
The hope that comes along with a first-round pick is, in many ways, naive. More first-rounders fail than succeed, but hope is very powerful, especially when it's placed on a quarterback's shoulders.
Mitch Trubisky couldn't shoulder the load, and we're entering a sad reality that suggests Justin Fields may not be able to, too.
Alas, the 2024 NFL Draft has a chance to restore hope for Bears fans via another quarterback. But this time, it'll be different. I promise.
Passers like USC's Caleb Williams and UNC's Drake Maye are closer to the Andrew Luck and Trevor Lawrence as prospects than Sam Darnold and Trey Lance. They'll be graded as near-can't-misses.
As horrendous as the 2023 season has been for the Chicago Bears, they'll be rewarded with the chance to snag one of those two quarterbacks if they keep stacking losses. And if the draft was held today, the Bears would get their choice at No. 1 overall and could conceivably trade the second pick for a king's ransom.
So, why not run through a three-round mock draft to see what a 2024 NFL draft haul could be for the Bears?
In this mock draft, I decided to keep both first-round selections and select two generational (is there such a thing anymore?) talents.
Let's get after it.
Round 1, Pick 1: Caleb Williams, QB, USC
I'm not ready to give up on Justin Fields, but I'm also not going to commit a 'Ryan Pace' and hold onto old scouting reports or the feelings I had when Fields was drafted by the Bears in 2021.
Talk about euphoria. I never felt as confident in a Chicago Bears quarterback as when Fields became QB1. Since then, it's been a roller coaster ride of highs and lows. The highs have been REALLY high. The lows have been frustratingly low. And now, Fields has a thumb injury that could keep him sidelined for a while.
As excited as Bears fans were when Fields was picked, there's an undeniable swell of anxious energy with the thought that Caleb Williams, a quarterback dubbed a generational prospect, could be the guy to break the wheel of the Chicago quarterback curse.
If the Bears end up with the first pick, it will be Caleb Williams. And I don't think there's anything Justin Fields can do at this point to change that.
Round 1, Pick 2: Marvin Harrison, WR, Ohio State
What better way to ensure your shiny new quarterback is set up for success than by adding the best wide receiver prospect since Ja'Marr Chase? Perhaps an argument can be made for Olu Fashanu, the 2024 NFL Draft's top left tackle prospect, but I'm fine with another season of Braxton Jones if it means Harrison is the pick.
Think about it: would you rather have Fashanu and Darnell Mooney or Jones and Harrison? It's an easy choice.
What a difference one draft would make for the energy level of the fanbase. Caleb Williams and Marvin Harrison Jr. inserted into an offense that already has DJ Moore is fun stuff. Right tackle Darnell Wright is on track to be among the best right tackles in the NFL by season's end, and running back Roschon Johnson has a chance to be this team's bell cow in a year or two. Stock on the Chicago Bears' offense would go WAY UP after just two picks.
Round 2, Pick 34: Sedrick Van Pran, OC, Georgia
Let's keep the offenses' stock rising in the second round with -- THANK GOD -- a new center. Georgia's Serick Van Pran is the top pivot in the 2024 class and would represent an instant upgrade over Cody Whitehair and Lucas Patrick.
Anyone would be an upgrade over Whitehair and Patrick.
Van Pran is a plug-and-play center who could grow in the offense with Caleb Williams and Darnell Wright, arguably giving the Bears the best young core of linemen and skill players in team history.
Round 3, Pick 66: J.T. Tuimoloaou, Edge, Ohio State
Let's throw a bone to the defense. The pass rush has been abysmal in 2023 and the Chicago Bears can't end Day 2 without an upgrade. Enter Ohio State's J.T. Tuimoloaou, who at the start of the year was viewed by many draft analysts as a first-round pick.
He may still end up in the top 32, but in this mock draft simulation (I used Pro Football Network's simulator), Tuimoloaou was on the board. Easy choice.
The Bears need a guy who can pin his ears back and get after the quarterback. This pick fills that need.
Caleb Williams, Marvin Harrison Jr., Sedrick Van Pan, and JT Tuimoloaou. Wow. That would be an epic NFL Draft haul.
And we deserve it.