2024 NFL Mock Draft: Here’s who the Bears take with two top-5 picks

The Chicago Bears ended the 2022 NFL season with the No. 1 overall pick, and the thought at the time was that it’d be a while before GM Ryan Poles and the Bears ever had a pick that high again.

But after three weeks of the 2023 season, the Bears still have the No. 1 pick. Chicago is 0-3 and ranks near the bottom of the NFL in almost every important statistical category on offense and defense. They’re a bad team right now, and if the season ended today, the Bears would be on the clock.

Part of the reason Chicago has underperformed is the slow start by quarterback Justin Fields. He’s regressed as a passer this year, and whether you want to blame him or offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, the simple fact is Fields hasn’t evolved the way the team or its fans had hoped.

Caleb Williams has entered the chat.

Williams is the consensus top quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft, and he’s considered a prospect who’s in the same tier that Trevor Lawrence was when he came out in 2021. In other words, Caleb Williams is a franchise quarterback prospect, and if Fields doesn’t turn his season around soon and the Bears continue losing, Williams to Chicago will be the 2024 draft narrative that doesn’t go away.

It’s still too soon to suggest the Bears will move on from Fields, though. And in the latest 2024 NFL Mock Draft from The Draft Wire, Chicago doubles down on Fields and gives him a generational prospect to throw to.

Bears select Marvin Harrison Jr. with No. 1 pick

In this 2024 mock draft, the Chicago Bears select Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. with the No. 1 pick overall.

No Bears fans will argue with this selection. Harrison is the best wide receiver prospect to enter the NFL in years. He’ll have a higher grade than Ja’Marr Chase, and brings a blend of size, route-running, and speed that will make him an instant go-to-guy in the league.

Harrison has 17 catches for 336 yards and three touchdowns through three games this year. He suffered an ankle injury during the Buckeyes’ win over Notre Dame last week, but it won’t change his 2024 NFL Draft outlook.

Marvin Harrison Jr. is the best non-quarterback in next year’s draft, and if he ends up in Chicago, the Bears will field the best pair of receivers (DJ Moore and Harrison) they’ve ever had.

Bears bolster secondary with Kool-Aid McKinstry at No. 4 overall

The Chicago Bears traded last year’s No. 1 pick to the Carolina Panthers for a haul of players and picks, including their first-rounder in 2024, which, after Week 3, is the No. 4 pick.

The Bears need the Panthers to continue losing so a projection like this actually becomes a reality. The fastest way for Chicago to return to relevance is by adding blue-chip prospects to the roster, and with Marvin Harrison Jr. already in place, flipping to the defense with this pick makes sense.

The Bears will likely have a need in their secondary by the time the 2024 NFL draft rolls around. Jaylon Johnson is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, and there’s been no indication that Ryan Poles wants to get a long-term deal done. If Johnson hits the open market, he’s gone.

Chicago would be left with Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson as their primary cornerbacks in that scenario, and while both players are talented defenders, Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry is in another tier. He profiles as a potential shutdown player who the Bears would plug-and-play against opponents’ top receiver.

Grading the Bears’ 2024 Mock Draft

It’s hard to give this Chicago Bears mock draft anything but an “A.”

Landing Marvin Harrison Jr. is a win, even if he’s the only pick in your entire draft class. He’s that special. When combined with a shutdown cornerback, the Bears level up at two of the NFL’s premium positions.

No Bears fan wants to go through another painful losing season in 2023. But if it happens again, the 2024 NFL draft will offer Chicago an elite cluster of prospects to choose from at the top of Round 1.

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