Not much in terms of quantity, but Bears love the quality of their draft picks

The 2024 NFL draft began with a bang for the Bears.

It was a historic night at Halas Hall in Lake Forest. The Bears selected USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick and Washington receiver Rome Odunze with the No. 9 pick.

It marked the first time since 2003 that the Bears made multiple selections in the first round of the draft. It also marked a new direction for the team at the quarterback position. Williams will have heavy expectations on his shoulders, but the Bears believe he’s built to withstand it.

The Bears made several additional selections throughout the weekend. They didn’t have a ton of draft picks this year (they entered the weekend with only four and wound up picking five players), but the hope is that this draft is all about quality over quantity.

Here are all the players the Bears drafted:

Poles, Eberflus on Williams, Odunze:

From general manager Ryan Poles’ perspective, the draft couldn’t have played out any more perfectly. Williams and Odunze were two of the highest players on their draft board.

The Bears had to sweat it out a little bit while staying patient and waiting for Odunze to fall to them at nine, but it all worked out in the end. Then the additions they made on Friday and Saturday bolstered key positions.

“There’s work to be done, but this is an impact draft for this organization for sure,” Poles said.

Nobody will have a bigger impact than Williams. Bears fans are placing their hopes and dreams on the shoulders of the 22-year-old QB out of USC.

Scouting and prepping to draft Williams was a long process, but now comes the harder part. This is still a Bears organization that has never had a 4,000-yard passer in a season. The team has drafted a half-dozen quarterbacks in the first round since Jim McMahon, and none of them has panned out.

Poles and coach Matt Eberflus believe they are equipped to help Williams break that cycle.

“It’s a group process,” Eberflus said. “I really think that all of us together are going to do that at the same time. But I really believe that Caleb is in a really good spot. He’s starting at a good spot and he’s going to finish at a good spot. We got to get him to the first game being the most prepared that he can be up to that point.”

The Bears have done a great job of equipping Williams with weapons. The trio of Odunze, DJ Moore and Keenan Allen should help elevate a passing attack that ranked 27th in the league last season.

Day 3 picks:

Poles said Taylor is “one of the best punters I’ve ever seen.” Williams apparently already texted Taylor and let him know that the Bears won’t be punting much in 2024.

Eberflus is excited to have a punter who can pin opponents deep in their own territory. That’s only going to help Eberflus’ defense, which was one of the best defenses in the NFL during the second half of last season.

“The punt and pins are huge, and this guy is a big talent, so we’re excited to have him,” Eberflus said.

Taylor was supposed to be the Bears’ final pick in the 2024 draft, but they weren’t done yet. Poles traded a 2025 fourth-round pick to Buffalo in exchange for the 144th pick this year and used it to take Booker, the edge rusher out of Kansas.

“We definitely had our eyes on him down there, for sure,” Eberflus said. “He’s got a slippery way about him.”

Booker is just 21 years old and he is a pretty raw prospect. He left college after just three seasons and he really didn’t play much his first two, but he won’t be expected to step into a starting role any time soon.