ESPN dubs Braxton Jones Bears’ biggest winner after 2024 NFL Draft

As the 2024 NFL Draft approached, speculation began about whether the Chicago Bears would use their second first-round pick, No. 9 overall, on an offensive tackle. Players like Notre Dame’s Joe Alt and Alabama’s J.C. Latham built momentum in the days leading up to Round 1, but in the end, the Bears selected wide receiver Rome Odunze instead.

In fact, Chicago didn’t add an offensive tackle until the third round when they drafted Yale’s Kiran Amegadjie, a prospect who needs at least a season or two of development in an NFL program before he can reasonably be expected to start.

That leaves third-year left tackle Braxton Jones as the unquestioned blindside protector for Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears’ winner from the 2024 NFL Draft, according to ESPN.

“Passing on top tackles Olu Fashanu and Amarius Mims at No. 9 seems to keep the door open at left tackle for Jones, who has battled bravely since being drafted in the fifth round in 2022,” ESPN’s Bill Barnwell wrote. “Most teams won’t countenance playing such an unheralded player on the blindside of their quarterback, but the Bears really had no choice in 2022. Jones missed six games last season, but he apparently did enough to earn the starting job again in 2024.”

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To be honest, I was a bit surprised at the first-round offensive tackle chatter as Draft season continued to unfold. Look, I 100% get the idea of selecting Alt in the first round, he’s as close of a lock to a 10-year All-Pro that’s come out since Joe Thomas. You don’t settle for good (Braxton Jones) over potentially great (Alt).

But the other guys? Fashanu? Latham? Fautanu? I understand they are all entering the NFL with exciting scouting reports, but Jones has been a solid NFL left tackle over the last two seasons, and the Chicago Bears have control over his contract for the next two (or more). There are a lot of teams who’d sign up for the offensive tackle tandem the Bears have right now with Jones and Darnell Wright. Using a top-10 pick on a position that didn’t really need an upgrade would’ve been foolish (sans Alt, of course).

So, yeah, Braxton Jones is a big winner from the 2024 NFL Draft. He deserves to be, too. I have a feeling the decision-makers inside Halas Hall weren’t all that “in” on an offensive tackle to begin with. They’re fans of Jones, and Bears fans should get used to the idea of him being the left tackle for a long time.