Ranking the Chicago Bears First-Round Picks Over the Past Decade

The Chicago Bears have a weird recent history with their first-round selections over the previous decade. That history is largely tied to well-defined traits by whoever is in the general manager chair.

Their former GM, Ryan Pace, couldn't hit on seemingly any of them. Then, immediately after hitting big on one, he mortgaged the future with all the others. Then, Ryan Poles took over. Say what you will about his other personnel moves that he made (or aggravatingly didn't make, when it came to retaining Matt Eberflus in 2024), but you can't argue with his first-round resume.

It's honestly too early to make an accurate assessment of some of their most recent first-round picks. I believe that players need two seasons under their belt before you can accurately gauge them. With that said, I thought it would be fun to rank the picks over the previous decade. Call it an inaccurate assessment, if you must.

It's also important to note that I'm only grading the group based on their time in Chicago. That will come into play with one player who frustratingly played much better after leaving after the duration of his rookie deal. How good a selection were they for the Bears?

8. Justin Fields

I'll admit it. I was probably more excited about the Justin Fields selection than any player on this list (I was thrilled with Caleb Williams, too, but that was a given). The lore was truly out of this world when he was coming out of Ohio State in 2021. He suffered broken ribs in the 2020 Sugar Bowl and still threw five touchdowns (including one deep ball to Chris Olave that still gets replayed to this day). I know his career hasn't exactly gone as planned, but there's no denying that he was an elite prospect. He had no business still being on the board with the 11th pick.

Unfortunately, Fields got thrown into the fire too soon. Perhaps even more importantly, he wasn't given the necessary reps before being thrown into the fire (the Bears had QB1 Andy Dalton, after all). His development became stunted from the jump, and he never recovered from it. While his time in Chicago featured some (extremely) exciting moments, it was largely marred by inconsistency. Elite runner. Abysmal processor.

7. Mitchell Trubisky

Some might be surprised to see Mitchell Trubisky ahead of Fields, but it's hard to argue against it when you look at the overall body of work. While he also had his fair share of troubles with inconsistency, Trubisky showed significantly more promise in 2018 (when he got selected to a somewhat fraudulent Pro Bowl) than Fields did during any of his three years in Chicago.

Unfortunately, just like practically everyone else on the roster during that period, he failed to recapture the same success from 2018. While they made the playoffs again in 2020 (another reason he gets the edge over Fields), it was always clear they were going to be an early out. Pace's decision to trade up one spot to select Trubisky, who only had 13 career starts during his time at North Carolina, with the second overall pick in 2017 will always live in infamy. Do you remember which QB was selected eight picks later that year? I'd rather not say. My therapist advises against it.

6. Leonard Floyd

I was convinced the Bears were drafting pot-head Laremy Tunsil when they traded up to the ninth pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Instead, they went with a lanky edge rusher in Leonard Floyd. Floyd made me look silly for being disappointed as a rookie, as he played really well, finishing the year with seven sacks in 12 games.

Unfortunately, that was the only season where he played like the ninth overall pick in the NFL Draft (in Chicago anyway). He finished with fewer than five sacks in each of the next three seasons, and couldn't even make a dent despite having Khalil Mack on the other side of the line for two of those years. Even more painfully, he began living up to the hype immediately upon leaving Chicago. He finished with at least eight sacks with three different teams over the next five years. Painful.

5. Rome Odunze

Rome Odunze hasn't lived up to the expectations of being the ninth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. However, he wasn't a bad pick by any means. A crowded receiver room was the main contributing factor to his lack of production as a rookie, when he was behind two veterans in DJ Moore and Keenan Allen in the lineup, and injuries took a toll last season, limiting him to only 12 games.

It's worth mentioning that Odunze was also on pace for nearly 1100 yards before popping up on the injury report against Baltimore in Week 8. He played through it, but it was clearly affecting him. He needs to clean up the drops to live up to the ninth overall pick hype. He also needs to get better at making contested catches, as that was a strength of his game in college. However, if he improves in those areas, then I see little reason to believe that he won't earn a second contract with Chicago, as he has a great rapport with Williams.

4. Colston Loveland

We've reached blue-chip territory. Colston Loveland has only played one year, and you could make a strong case that he's already one of the league's best tight ends. He wasted no time in establishing himself as one of Caleb Williams' top targets last year, and really began to heat up down the stretch (culminating in the best postseason performance from a rookie TE in league history, despite only playing in two playoff games).

Loveland definitely has some room to climb these rankings. Honestly, I'd be willing to bet he will cement his name in the second spot after the culmination of his rookie deal. I'm extremely bullish on his future, and the Bears wouldn't change a thing if given a chance at a mulligan here. Tyler Warren? Never heard of him.

3. Darnell Wright

I think you could make a strong case for Wright being just a bit higher on this list, but I'm trying not to let recency bias influence me. Wright might not have been the popular choice at tenth overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, as many hoped the Bears stuck with their ninth pick (their original selection before moving down) and selected Jalen Carter. However, through three seasons, it's hard to argue with their process (especially considering the off-the-field concerns they had at the time).

Wright was a rock-solid starter for the first two years of his career and developed into one of the league's top right tackles last season. Despite playing through a torn UCL for much of the season, he allowed only 3 sacks and 19 pressures. He also earned an All-Pro nod for his efforts. I'd be willing to bet that he will be locked into a second contract with Chicago this time next year.

2. Roquan Smith

Some might forget just how dominant Roquan Smith was over his first four (and a half) years in Chicago. The team drafted him with the eighth overall pick, and he immediately began making plays in the middle of the Bears' defense. He played well in virtually every facet of the game and finished with at least 100 tackles and multiple sacks over his first four years. Then the man who drafted him got fired, and he didn't exactly vibe with the new regime.

He demanded a trade ahead of the 2022 season, and Chicago eventually traded him for a second and fifth-round pick before the trade deadline. Pennies on the dollar for one of the league's best 'backers. I understood not wanting to pay an off-the-ball linebacker with the amount of needs they had at the time, but I couldn't make much sense of it when they signed Tremaine Edmunds to a similar deal the following offseason.

1. Caleb Williams

Caleb Williams might've been an easy pick at first overall in 2024, but I'm not including that in the criteria here. Maybe I did fall into some recency bias, but I honestly don't see how you can rank the man who looks destined to break the Chicago Bears quarterback curse anything less than number one. Maybe Smith would be the top spot on an unbiased legacy leaderboard with Williams only having two seasons under his belt, but how do you ignore the QB graveyard that he walked into?

Some were questioning whether even Williams could survive the wasteland after a disappointing (in terms of their record and the fact that he was sacked a near-record high 68 times) rookie season. However, it would've been unfair to pin any of the blame on the rookie QB when his head coach and offensive coordinator both got axed in-season. The fact that he threw for over 3500 yards and had 20 touchdowns to only six interceptions under those circumstances is remarkable in itself.

He took a huge leap forward in his first year under Ben Johnson last season, becoming one of the league's most exciting young quarterbacks. He finished just under the ever-elusive 4000-yard mark and cut his sacks from 68 to 24. He also pioneered one of the most improbable 11-win seasons in NFL history. The future appears bright in Chicago, and Williams is a major reason why that's the case.