In his first two drafts as General Manager of the Chicago Bears, Ryan Poles showed a penchant for trading back and acquiring more picks. Frankly, he had to. The roster he inherited was overpaid and aging, and he needed as many cheap, young players as he could get while he worked to build his foundation.
Now, the foundation appears to be set. Poles put together a team that ended the 2023 season with some momentum and will add who he hopes will be his franchise quarterback. It's time to add those 'blue-chip players' he mentioned at the NFL owners meeting this week. If his plan works, this will be the last time in a long time that the Chicago Bears will be picking in the Top 10 of the draft, and Poles wants to take advantage of that.
For this mock draft, I only make one trade in the third round. The Bears send the 75th overall (third round) to the Cleveland Browns for Nos. 81 and 118.
It isn't a large draft class, but it should be a good one.
Now, let's get to the Chicago Bears' selections in this 2024 NFL mock draft.
1.1 (via CAR) Caleb Williams - Quarterback, USC
If Williams weren't such an exciting player, this selection would be getting boring to talk about. Everyone knows this will be the pick, and there's nothing left to debate. For the first time in franchise history, the Bears are selecting a quarterback first overall, and if anyone can free Chciago from quarterback purgatory, it's Caleb.
1.9 Rome Odunze - Receiver, Washington
The Bears could realistically go one of three ways here: receiver, offensive tackle, or pass rusher. For this mock, I have them selecting Odunze, who could easily be the top receiver in any other draft class. He's a big-bodied receiver with deceptive speed who will catch anything thrown his way, even in heavy traffic. The wide receiver room may be a bit crowded, and someone may not get as many targets as they'd like, but with this pick, Ryan Poles will have assembled the best group of pass catchers Chicago has ever had.
3.81 (via CLE) Brandon Dorlus - Defensive End, Oregon
A versatile defender who could play inside or outside, Dorlus brings exciting potential to the table. He's shown some impressive strength and decent athleticism at Oregon, and under the tutelage of defensive coaches like Matt Eberflus and Eric Washington, should develop into a solid starter for the Bears.
4.118 (via CLE) Brenden Rice - Receiver, USC
The Bears double-dip for receivers to round out the receiving room.
Rice, the son of the greatest wide receiver of all time, Jerry Rice, played with Caleb Williams at USC for two years and posted some impressive tape along the way. I think Ryan Poles likes the idea of pairing up his new quarterback with a familiar target since we've seen so much success from other teams doing so, and that makes this an easy pick.
4.122 Tanor Bortolini - Center, Wisconsin
From what we've heard from Ryan Poles so far, it sounds like Ryan Bates is most likely going to be the starting Center in 2024. However, I could still see Poles taking Bortolini late on Day 2 of the draft as a developmental prospect. A relative unknown before the Senior Bowl, Bortolini played 868 snaps at Center in 2023 and allowed just one sack and two QB hits. At the Combine, he registered an incredible 9.97 RAS. This might be a slight reach on Poles' part, but I feel he fell in love with Bortolini's potential.