DETROIT, MICHIGAN - APRIL 25: (L-R) Caleb Williams poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after ... [+]
The Bears are about to try something new — winning with a high-wire, explosive offense littered with potential All-Pro pass catchers and a high-ceiling quarterback. Third-year general manager Ryan Poles pounded home his commitment to that direction in the first round of the NFL draft.
After selecting USC’s Caleb Williams with the first overall pick, as had been widely expected, Poles scooped up Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze with the ninth pick. He joins DJ Moore and Keenan Allen to give Williams a trio of outside targets who combined to catch 296 passes for 4247 yards and 28 touchdowns last season.
This is hardly business as usual for the Bears, who are the only NFL franchise that has never had a quarterback pass for 4,000 yards or 30 touchdowns in a season. But Poles was the Kansas City director of college scouting in 2017, when the Chiefs selected Patrick Mahomes to run Andy Reid’s offense.
ESPN commentator Booger McFarland said Thursday that Williams is “the closest thing we’ve seen to Patrick Mahomes since Patrick Mahomes.”
Williams was a three-year starter at quarterback in college — one year at Oklahoma before following head coach Lincoln Riley to USC. He won the Heisman Trophy in 2022 and in his two seasons at USC produced 8694 yards and 93 touchdowns. He threw 72 touchdown passes with only 10 interceptions.
It’s hard to imagine but there was significant debate in Chicago about the Bears’ quarterback future before Poles traded Justin Fields to Pittsburgh, opening the door for Williams.
“I think they’ve been building (this) for a little bit now,” Odunze said. “They’ve been doing it for awhile. I’m just another piece in the puzzle.”
In addition to having added three impact wide receivers in the last two years, Poles also extended tight end Cole Kmet through 2027 and signed free agent tight end Gerald Everett to a two-year contract. Between them, Kmet and Everett caught 124 passes for 1130 yards and nine touchdowns last season.
Head coach Matt Eberflus and his new offensive coordinator, Shane Waldron, will need to be creative to keep so many targets satisfied with their level of activity.
There was only one real surprise ahead of the Bears’ second pick, at No. 9. Atlanta shocked analysts by selecting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 despite having signed free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal during free agency. That left the Bears to choose between attractive options in three areas.
They were reportedly intrigued with University of Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II and could have upgraded the offensive lineman by adding Penn State’s Olu Fashanu, who played high school football with Williams in Washington, D.C.
But Poles could not turn away from Odunze, who in the last two years had 167 catches for 20 touchdowns, serving as Penix’s top target. He stands 6-3 and led college receivers with 24 contested catches last season, while showing his toughness by playing through rib injuries.
Credit Poles for his patience. He put the Bears in this position by trading the first overall pick to Carolina last season.
That has essentially become a five-for-one deal in which Chicago acquired Williams, Moore, offensive tackle Darnell Wright, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and a 2025 second-round pick for the rights to draft University of Alabama quarterback Bryce Young.
The Bears showed a strong defense in the second half of their 7-10 season in 2023, improving significantly after trading a second-round pick for Montez Sweat at the midseason deadline. They have made themselves relevant after the dive to the bottom of the NFL that followed former GM Ryan Pace’s selection of Mitchell Trubisky (over Mahomes) in the 2017 draft.
Seven years later, they have given themselves a fresh start.
