Bear Digest

Chicago Bears player power rankings: Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze leading the way

Both of Chicago's 2024 first-round draft selections are breaking out at the same time and leading the team to a brighter future.

Pete Martuneac

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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The Chicago Bears are going to have a big, expensive problem on their hands if things keep going the way they're going. Quarterback Caleb Williams is on pace for a fantastic 4,000-yard, 31 touchdown season while Rome Odunze has racked up 5 touchdowns in 5 games. If these trends hold, both Williams and Odunze will be due for massive contract extensions after the 2026 season at the two most expensive position groups in the NFL.

But that's a future (good!) problem for the Bears to have. For now, Bears fans can simply enjoy the fact that the two most important draft picks in recent history are living up to the hype and still have room to grow. Neither one had their best game in Chicago's thrilling 25-24 Week 6 victory, but they continued to flash that special talent that made them top draft picks.

Both Williams and Odunze retain their top spots from last week's Chicago Bears player power rankings, but who rounds out the rest of the list? Let's take a look.

1. Caleb Williams (Last week: 1)

Williams did not play his best game on Sunday, but he displayed resilience in the face of adversity, did not turn the ball over, and notched another game-winning drive. He had some impressive throws that were wiped away by penalty (which would have strongly boosted his stat line), but none were better than this absolute dart to rookie Luther Burden III.

This is a frozen rope approximately 40 air yards down the field that hits Burden in stride, and Williams delivered this throw flat-footed. There's maybe one other quarterback in the entire league who can put that much velocity on the ball without even using his lower body, and that's the reigning MVP.

2. Rome Odunze (Last week: 2)

It won't show up in his statistics at the end of the season, but this would-be touchdown catch negated by a highly questionable penalty on Theo Benedet was a work of art. This would have been Odunze's sixth touchdown reception of the season, which would make him tied for second most in the NFL.

Hopefully, Odunze uses this robbery as fuel to go out in Week 7 and put up another multi-touchdown performance.

3. Joe Thuney (Last week: 5)

It may not have been the flashiest trade, but Ryan Poles' deal to acquire All-Pro guard Joe Thuney may be his biggest hit yet as a general manager. He has completely locked down the left guard position and elevated the entire unit.

4. Tyrique Stevenson (Last week: 3)

Dropping Stevenson a spot from last week's Chicago Bears player power rankings isn't an indictment on him. He was mostly excellent on Monday and has in fact been one of the league's best corners after Weeks 1 and 2. But Thuney played what was essentially a perfect game while Stevenson gave up a huge reception in the 4th quarter that led to Washington taking a 24-16 lead.

5. D'Andre Swift (Last week: Not ranked)

Swift played arguably his best game as a Bear on Monday, just when the team needed him most on a rainy, misty night. He hasn't been very good this season, and he may not be very good going forward. But for now he deserves nothing but praise for his dominant performance against the Commanders. Without his 55-yard catch and run touchdown, the Bears probably lose this one.

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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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