Bear Digest

How Second Wave of Analysis Rates Caleb Williams and Bears Draft

The next wave of analysis goes deeper than grades, and here's how the new-look Bears come out of all the extra scrutiny.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams and his draft class earn extra praise in most of the analysis posted after all the draft grades came out.
Caleb Williams and his draft class earn extra praise in most of the analysis posted after all the draft grades came out. | David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

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Chicago Bears

With draft grades of all types now past, the latest assessments by analysts are deeper comparisons and projections.

In most, the Bears came away looking like a team ready to make a positive mark on the 2024 season. But it's not the case on all fronts.

Somehow, Pro Football Focus' driving force, Sam Monson, managed to list his 10 favorite draft classes and left the Bears off.

He tried to explain it on NBC Sports' Football Night in Chicago by saying he liked the Bears draft but it's just that everyone has just become so good at drafting.

Seriously?

More in depth analysis can be found elsewhere. Ian Valentino of The 33rd Team counts the Bears among the NFL's six most improved teams resulting from this draft class, and noted how difficult it was with only five drafted players.

"The Chicago Bears did more with less, which is tough when other teams had double or triple the number of picks to use," he wrote.

THE KEY QUALITY JUSTIN FIELDS LACKED THAT BEARS SAW IN CALEB WILLIAMS

It wasn't just the selection of Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze he liked, but pointed to fifth-round defensive end Austin Booker as a steal.

"His size and athleticism are impressive, though, and seeing him fall out of Day 2 was shocking," Valentino wrote, and adeed, "Third-round pick Kiran Amegadjie also stood out as a good value."

Along similar lines, CBS Sports' Cody Benjamin counted the Bears among the seven most improved.

"Everyone knew the 2024 draft was essentially the current Bears regime's version of the Super Bowl, and even still, it's hard to overstate the upgrade of their foundation," he wrote.

WHERE POWER RANKINGS HAVE BEEN PLACING THE BEARS

The net result of the Bears draft will not disappoint Bears fans.

"It's not a stretch to suggest, with proper coaching, that Chicago could be in the playoff mix this upcoming season," Benjamin concludes.

Something similar was written by Benjamin's CBS Sports colleague, Will Brinson. In an article on NFL draft superlatives, he labeled the Bears "Most Likely to be American's Preseason Playofff Sleeper Darling"

Brinson assesses something many others have, including BearDigest—that no other team to draft a QB first overall had stacked the deck in the passer's favor like the Bears have.

"There will be plenty of people who pick the Bears to win this division in Williams' rookie season," Brinson wrote.

Sports Illustrated's Gilberto Manzano puts Williams among the seven first-round rookies likely to make immediate impacts. Rome Odunze isn't listed.

"If the offensive line protects Williams, the Bears' offense could quickly become a top-10 unit in 2024," Manzano writes.

The next step is to see them all out on a field throwing around the ball and catching it, and that happens Friday at the Bears rookie camp.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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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.