All of the talk about the Chicago Bears and the 2024 NFL draft will be centered around what they do with the #1 pick. That isn’t a shock. Everything that happens during those three days will be determined by whatever GM Ryan Poles does. Current expectations are that they will take a quarterback, most likely Caleb Williams. Debates will rage for months on that. Meanwhile, many people overlook the fact that Chicago has another pick in the top 10. They also hold the 9th overall selection. Considering that is the same one that landed them Brian Urlacher in 2000, its importance can’t be overstated.
If a quarterback is the target at #1, what will Poles hope to do at #9? There will be multiple possibilities. This draft appears rich in left tackle prospects. Perhaps the Bears feel they can upgrade from Braxton Jones. It is also a talent class for pass rushers. They need somebody across from Montez Sweat. However, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune thinks they might focus elsewhere. While it is still early in the process to determine anything, it sounds like the Bears are hoping to land their future quarterback some immediate firepower.
“I would be a lot more intrigued about what the Bears will do at WR2 and TE2 (not to mention QB1) than by how they seek to supplement a running backs group that currently includes Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson…
…It’s certainly possible the Bears will consider a left tackle with their second pick in the first round. All things equal, I think they lean toward a wide receiver at this point, but I’m not sold on that at this early juncture.”
Such an approach by the Chicago Bears would be fitting.
Most draft experts agree this is a great year to need wide receiver help. Projections have three names likely going in the top 10 alone: Marvin Harrison Jr. of Ohio State, Malik Nabers of LSU, and Rome Odunze of Washington. The fact that those three are drawing comparisons to CeeDee Lamb, Justin Jefferson, and Larry Fitzgerald, respectively, should give you an idea of how highly thought of they are. If one of them were to fall to #9, it would allow the Bears to give their young QB a weapon he can grow with. The last time a team took a QB and receiver in the 1st round together was in 2010, when Denver selected Demaryius Thomas and Tim Tebow. That tandem went on to win a playoff game together.
The Chicago Bears no doubt have visions of what Williams could accomplish throwing to D.J. Moore and either Nabers or Odunze. It is a safe assumption Harrison is out of the question unless they were to trade up. That could form maybe the most talented wide receiver tandem this organization has seen since Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery a decade ago. It is hard to fault Poles for such an idea. Much of it depends on how he thinks he can fill other key positions and whether either of those two actually falls to the 9th spot.
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