Chicago Bears blew the 2024 NFL Draft, says prominent analyst

Where do you stand on NFL redrafts?

Do you believe they’re intriguing thought exercises that elicit legitimate discussions about a franchise’s past, present, and future decision making? Or do you eyeball one of them and think, “Click bait.”

Me, I’ll go with option A.

Aside from the fact that a reasonable redraft does indeed make a for wonderful starting point for a good ol’ fashioned NFL argument, it gives fans an idea of how national pundits feel about their team, something that’s generally of great interest to local fans. (Full transparency, I’ve written my fair share of redrafts.)

The Athletic loves a good redraft, and they just dropped one that’s both interesting and argument-worthy.

Did the Bears Whiff In 2024?

In his April 14 piece “Redrafting the 2024 NFL Draft: Jayden Daniels or Caleb Williams at No. 1?”, The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner claimed the Bears went oh-fer.

Baumgardner is emphatic Bears GM Ryan Poles should’ve passed over quarterback Caleb Williams at the one-spot, suggesting now-Washington-signal-caller Jayden Daniels was The Guy:

“It’d be almost impossible to say the Bears regret drafting Williams No. 1, as the rookie had a very productive first season and was playing better at the end of the year than the beginning. It’s literally impossible, though, to say another rookie QB outperformed Daniels…Daniels had one of the most poised and productive rookie seasons in NFL history.”

You can’t argue with a single word of that breakdown. Williams may surpass Daniels someday, but as of right now, the LSU product is the better quarterback, both numerically—Jayden out-statted Caleb in every major category, save for interceptions—and in the standings.

Caleb Williams Stats This Season:

— 62.5 PCT
— 3,541 Yards
— 20 TD’s
— 6 INT’s
— 87.8 PR

Jayden Daniels Stats This Season:

— 69.0 PCT
— 3,568 Yards
— 25 TD’s
— 9 INT’s
— 100.1 PR

If you were Ryan Poles, Would you still Draft Caleb Williams with the 1st Pick? pic.twitter.com/XM0AsQsLYY
— BearsMuse (@ChiBearsMuse) April 11, 2025

Y’see, the most important stat is winning, something that Daniels was able to facilitate way more often than Williams, as Washington finished the regular season with a record of 12-5 to Chicago’s mirror image 5-12.

(FWIW, Baumgardner has Williams going to Washington at the two-spot, pointing out, “The Bears finished Williams’ rookie year 5-12, but it wasn’t the quarterback’s fault.” To that end, man, it would’ve been interesting to see Williams’ mess around with a Kliff Kingsbury playbook.)

But let’s revisit this one next January, when Williams has had a full season of playing behind an adult offensive line and rolling with a scheme devised by a play-caller not named Shane Waldron or Thomas Brown.

As For the Receiver Position

Baumgardner was even less impressed with Chicago’s selection of receiver Rome Odunze with the ninth pick, sending the Washington product to the San Francisco 49ers wayyyyy down at 31.

In his redraft, Baumgardner had the Bears grabbing a more touted receiver in Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr.:

“Harrison did not have a bad season, to be clear—it just wasn’t as ridiculous as what [Malik] Nabers and [Brian] Thomas [Jr.] produced. Harrison still finished as Arizona’s leading receiver (62 catches, 885 yards, eight TDs) in an otherwise outstanding rookie season. He’s arguably the Cardinals’ best draft pick of the last five years.”

Don’t get Baumgardner wrong: He still dug the Bears' choice, pointing out, “Odunze [was] a fixture in Chicago all year inside the NFL’s toughest division, was still productive, and has formed a great pairing with Williams.”

Cannot wait to see Williams and Odunze in year 2 🔥 pic.twitter.com/AIsaRtRmtb
— Just Another Year Chicago: Bears (@JAYChi_Bears) April 5, 2025

Taking all that into account, how do you feel about redrafts now?