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The Greatest First-Round Picks in Chicago Bears History—The Ones Who Changed Everything

Who were the best 10 first-round picks the Bears made? Here's a list, with an emphasis on those who changed the game for them and also the NFL in some cases.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams comes out for warmups prior to the Bears' playoff win over Green Bay.
Caleb Williams comes out for warmups prior to the Bears' playoff win over Green Bay. | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The Greatest First-Round Picks in [Team Name] History -- The Ones Who Changed Everythin

Every team gets a first-round draft pick unless they trade it away for someone, the way the Bears did with Khalil Mack.

In that case, they gave up two first-rounders.

It's a tough thing to give one up, and especially two of them, because first-round picks are viewed as difference makers. Bucky Brooks of NFL.com sees 26 of these in Round 1 for this draft.

However, the truly great picks not only fill a need but can completely transform a team in various ways.

The Bears have been drafting since 1936, when it all started, and here are their greatest first-round picks—the ones who changed everything.

1. QB Sid Luckman 1939

Luckman was a halfback and a single-wing tailback at Columbia and George Halas needed a player he thought could be a T-formation quarterback. He saw it in Luckman and traded with Pittsburgh to move up from No. 2 into the No. 1 spot so he could draft Luckman. Luckman not only led the Bears to four championships in the 1940s, but he was impactful on the entire league as one of the first great downfield passers and first effective T-formation QB.  He paved the way for QBs throughout NFL history in this regard. The pass obviously not used as much then, and Luckman played 10-, 11-, and 12-game schedules so his statistics don't compare with today's QBs. He did throw for 28 TD passes in 1943 when he passed for a career-best 2,194 yards.

2. RB Walter Payton 1975

Their greatest player and possibly the best all-around player in NFL history, Payton could run, block, receive, pass and was a tremendous tackler when Bob Avellini threw an interception. Payton's flying dives at the goal line or on third and fourth down led to many of his 110 rushing TDs and 655 first-down runs. The fourth pick of the 1975 draft by GM Jim Finks altered the Bears because their running game had plummeted into the dumpster after Gale Sayers' final big season in 1969, one year after his knee injury and surgery. Payton gained only 679 as a rookie after a slow start in a poor offense but it was still more than any running back they had from 1970-74. His presence provided the weapon defenses had to respect, and when they built the rest of the roster, it meant a Super Bowl in his 11th season.

3. LB Dick Butkus 1965

The third overall pick from Illinois in 1965, he arrived two years after the great 1963 defense and had to carry the torch for a team that struggled on offense with consistency. His violent, physical style and attitude intimidated opponents. Paul Hornung had said the only defensive player Vince Lombardi and the great 1960s Packers felt they had to alter their offense to face was Butkus. He reinforced the Bears' identity for toughness and before knee injuries hit he was a player who excelled in pass coverage as well as stopping the run. For his career, he had 22 interceptions, 27 fumble recoveries, and scared plenty of opposing ball carriers and QBs.

4. RB Gale Sayers 1965

Drafted one spot after Butkus out of Kansas, Sayers' tremendous speed and cutting ability allowed Halas to open up the offense and throw to backs more while also running more to the outside. Defenses had to be ready to face the game's most dangerous breakaway threat at the time. Sayers led the league three times in rushing yards per game. He became an instant smash hit and reason to watch the team's games in 1965 and was having his best season in 1968 with 95.1 yards a game and 6.2 yards per carry when the first knee injury occurred. Sayers was such a great player and draft ick that he made the Hall of Fame on only 68 games played.

5. TE Mike Ditka 1961

There have been other great players drafted but few with the immediate impact on both the Bears offense and the game itself like Iron Mike, the fifth overall pick in 1961. Tight end was basically a new position that Ditka popularized with a 56-catch, 1,076-yard season. Bigger ends on offense usually caught throws 5 or 6 yards downfield but the Bears' rookie averaged 19.2 yards a reception and 14.3 for his Bears career. The new dimension he brought to the team gave a mediocre offense enough downfield threat win a championship in 1963, and paved the way for coaches across the league to use tight ends as more than blocker and receivers on short passes.

6. DT Dan Hampton 1979

One great talent GM Jim Finks had was landing defensive linemen. The Bears needed someone who could be stout against the run and complement the blitzing linebackers in Buddy Ryan's scheme. The Hall of Famer came with the fourth pick of the 1979 draft and earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro status both as a end and defensive tackle. He led the team in tackles and sacks in 1980, rarity for a defensive lineman. Hampton battled through 10 knee surgeries to play 12 seasons and key a defense that led the NFL in stopping the run four times.

7. LB Brian Urlacher 2000

The middle linebacker the Bears had lacked since Mike Singletary's retirement after the 1992 season was more than a tackler and field general. The ninth pick in the 2000 draft was so fast that he played safety at 6-foot-4, 250 pounds at New Mexico. When Lovie Smith became coach and brought the Tampa-2 scheme to Chicago, he needed a big middle with speed dropping into the zone and had this player ready made in Urlacher, who had been drafted by Mark Hatley when Dick Jauron was coach. Urlacher did everything in that scheme, with 41 1/2 sacks, 22 interceptions, 90 pass breakups, 12 forced fumbles and 16 recovered. A different type of middle linebacker than the traditional downhill snot-knocker, Urlacher was a more modern player for the way the game was played in the new millennium, and led the Bears to Super Bowl XLI.

8. C Bulldog Turner 1940

The Bears had their T-formation QB in Sid Luckman, but they got a player in vital role at center with the seventh pick in 1940 in Clyde "Bulldog" Turner from Hardin-Simmons. Turner was a standout defensive and offensive player for the 1940s Bears teams that won four NFL titles in seven years. They had won none before  Turner became their center. He played from 1940-52, was All-Pro seven times and stood out even more than other great offensive linemen of that era like Joe Stydahar and Danny Fortmann. Turner was named by the Tribune as the third greatest Bears player in the 100-year Bears celebration.

9. T Jimbo Covert 1983

If you're going to have a gutsy quarterback who throws his body around like Jim McMahon, you need a Hall-of-Fame left tackle blocking his blind side. The incomparable Walter Payton never had an All-Pro/Pro Bowl blocker until Covert and center Jay Hilgenberg. They led the NFL in rushing four straight years near the end of Payton's career once Covert was on the line.

10. QB Caleb Williams 2024

This one is more of a projection than reality because he played only two seasons and two playoff games, but consider it for a minute. Eventually he could rank very high on this list. A team lost at this most critical of all positions chose Williams first overall and he succeeds when paired with competent coaching for the first time. Who knows how big this could get? The potential is there for the first 4,000-yard passer as he brings the Bears offense into the 21st century.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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