The 2024 NFL Scouting Combine is here, and with it will come the meteoric rise and dreaded fall of draft hopefuls' stock. A fast 40-yard dash could push a third-round prospect into the second round as much as a poor showing in on-field workouts can knock a player from the late first round into the early second.
Sometimes, those narrative shifts are unwarranted. It can be over-scouting; analysts and fans drift away from the tape and focus on what just happened in t-shirts and shorts.
As a result, I find it's good practice to do a pre-NFL Combine mock draft and revisit it once the week of testing is over.
How much will change over the next seven days? Let's find out in our latest seven-round Chicago Bears mock draft. A quick side note: I ran this mock draft without assuming the Bears will get a second-round pick in a Justin Fields trade. Instead, I decided to conduct a Bears mock draft with the picks they currently have to keep the spirit of the exercise pure.
Here are the results:
Round 1.01: Caleb Williams, QB, USC
Analysis: This is the obvious choice at this point. If the Bears keep the first pick, the first pick will be Caleb Williams.
There's some speculation that Ryan Poles will entertain offers for the No. 1 pick during the NFL Scouting Combine, and that may be true. But I doubt any team will offer the kind of historic haul it will take to move the Bears off the first selection.
Williams offers Chicago something the franchise has never had: a legitimate blue-chip franchise quarterback prospect. Others have tried before him, including Justin Fields, but none of the Bears' past first-round quarterbacks in the modern era (Cade McNown, Rex Grossman, Mitch Trubisky, and Fields) have the kind of natural talent Williams has.
Bottom line? You don't settle for a double when you can hit a home run. Williams is a grand slam.
Round 1.09: Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
Analysis: The top three wide receivers were off the board at the No. 9 pick, so the Bears "settle" on the fourth-best pass catcher in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Bowers isn't a traditional tight end. He's a supersized wide receiver who can do everything Cole Kmet can't. Combining the two would give Chicago the best tight end tandem in the NFL while also providing Caleb Williams with a top-tier weapon at the position along the lines of George Kittle and Travis Kelce.
I get that recent NFL Drafts have proven teams can add a quality tight end on Day 2, making this selection in the top 10 feel like a reach. But Bears fans can't view Bowers as a tight end. He's an offensive weapon, and Chicago needs as many of those as possible.
Round 3.75: Braden Fiske, DL, Florida State
Analysis: Fiske was one of the stars at the 2024 Senior Bowl. He'd bring his high energy and relentless playing style to the interior of the Chicago Bears defensive line.
Poles added two interior defenders in the 2023 NFL Draft (Gervon Dexter Sr. and Zacch Pickens), but neither emerged as an instant star. Dexter got better as the season went along, and his arrow is definitely pointing up. But Fiske could be the type of penetrating three-technique that makes Matt Eberflus' defense tick. He'd be great value here.
Round 4.111: Blake Corum, RB, Michigan
Analysis: Unless the Chicago Bears add a veteran running back in free agency, I expect Poles to use a Day 3 pick on the position again.
The Bears selected Roschon Johnson in the fourth round of last year's draft, but his rookie season was just OK. He didn't do enough to close the door on competition via this year's NFL Draft, and if Corum falls to the fourth round, there's no way Chicago will pass on him.
Corum's vision and instincts are at the top of this year's class. He's smaller than you'd like a feature runner to be, but he has a low center of gravity and very good contact balance. His start-and-stop ability is above average, and he has enough speed to hit chunk gains consistently.
Corum has enough natural ability to be a Day 1 starter for a team like the Bears.
Round 4. 123: Marshawn Kneeland, Edge, Western Michigan
Analysis: Edge rusher will be a big focus in free agency, and the Chicago Bears could use the No. 9 pick on a prospect like Laiatu Latu (UCLA) or Dallas Turner (Alabama). That's not how this mock draft fell, but it doesn't end without a quality pass-rush prospect in its haul.
Kneeland will continue to rise up draft boards over the next two months, and there's a chance he could end up being a Day 2 pick. For now, this is the range that he's likely to get selected, and if he ends up with the Bears, he'd have a chance for reps right away in his rookie season.
Kneeland has very good length (34-inch arms), is strong against the run, and plays with the hustle and intensity that will warm Eberflus' heart.
Round 5.143: Tahj Washington, WR, USC
Analysis: I'm a big fan of adding teammates in the same draft class, especially when it's a first-round quarterback and one of his wide receivers.
Washington profiles as a slot receiver with plus speed in the NFL. He has some limitations as a route-runner, but he was one of Williams' favorite targets to the tune of 59 catches, 1,062 yards, and eight touchdowns.
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