Daniel Jeremiah Mock Draft: Bears Land Top WR in Round 1

The first wave of 2024 NFL Free Agency signings went as well as they could for the Chicago Bears’ NFL draft interests. Several teams that select before the Bears’ second first-rounder (No. 9 overall) struck deals with free-agent wide receivers, increasing the odds that Chicago will be enriched by a top pass-catching prospect falling to the ninth pick.

And that’s exactly what happens in the latest 2024 mock draft from NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah.

But before we get to the No. 9 pick, Jeremiah has the Bears doing what many expect they’ll do at No. 1 overall: they select Caleb Williams.

“The Bears have cleared the runway by trading Justin Fields,” Jeremiah wrote. “I’ll be stunned if Williams isn’t their choice at No. 1, and they’ve built an outstanding supporting cast for him.”

Did you hear that RGIII? Williams is set up for success in Chicago. Any suggestion that he should force his way to another team like Eli Manning did when the Chargers selected him first overall in the 2004 NFL draft is absolute nonsense.

Caleb Williams will be a Chicago Bear.

Now for that No. 9 pick. Jeremiah has Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze falling to the Bears in what would be nothing short of a spectacular first round for general manager Ryan Poles.

“The Bears could go pass rusher here after adding Keenan Allen at receiver, but I can’t resist the prospect of playing Odunze alongside Allen and DJ Moore to give projected first-overall pick Caleb Williams a Bengals-like receiving corps,” Jeremiah wrote.

Daniel Jeremiah’s approach differed from Mel Kiper Jr., who published his latest mock draft Tuesday and had the Chicago Bears focusing on defense at nine.

I prefer Jeremiah’s strategy. In today’s NFL, the best teams score points. And the teams that score the most points tend to have a top-tier passing game highlighted by a group of talented pass-catchers.

The Chicago Bears are closing in on being that kind of offense with Moore and Allen in place, and if they add Odunze (or Malik Nabers) in the first round, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron will be cooking with gas.