WCG’s lead draft analyst breaks down the performance of each of the Bears’ draft picks last year.
The Bears entered the 2024 NFL Draft in rarified air.
It marked their first time with two first-round selections since 2003. Better yet, it was their first time with two top-ten picks since 1979. For a team that hadn’t seen much success in recent years, having two premier draft picks in the same year figured to be a massive boost to their rebuild.
That didn’t seem to turn the entire trajectory of the team around, as the Bears finished 5-12 in 2024. Granted, it was hardly the fault of the rookies. The coaching staff was a mess, the offensive line fell apart, and certain free agent and trade acquisitions didn’t live up to the hype.
How exactly did each of their draft picks perform last year, though? Let’s look at how each of Chicago’s rookies played in the 2024 season.
QB Caleb Williams
The rookie season for Caleb Williams came with plenty of adversity and obstacles in his way. The coaching staff was a mess, the offensive play calling lacked cohesion or common sense, and the offensive line was a porous disaster in pass protection.
That’s hardly to say Williams is free of criticism. He held onto the ball too long and seemingly got too conservative with the ball, straying away from the playmaking mentality that won him the Heisman Trophy at USC. The lack of big plays in the passing game was apparent when you watched the Bears last year.
However, Williams showed tremendous resilience and durability by staying healthy for all 17 games, despite being the most-sacked quarterback in the league. His arm talent was on display for some flashes of elite throws, and his mobility got him out of some serious jams. As often as he got sacked, most quarterbacks would’ve been sacked even more behind that offensive line. Caleb’s athleticism helped him avoid a lot of the seemingly constant pressure he faced.
Williams finished 17th in the NFL with 3,541 passing yards. That number was surely helped by his health, as he finished last among all 14 quarterbacks who stayed healthy for all 17 games. He also placed just 31st in QBR at 46.7. That said, his ability to stay turnover free was extremely impressive, as he placed third in the entire NFL with a 1.1% interception percentage.
Going into Year 2, Williams has an improved offensive line, some new weapons to work with, and one of the best offensive play callers in the NFL in new head coach Ben Johnson. He has his own flaws he’ll need to work on, but he’s in a much better situation on paper in 2025.
WR Rome Odunze
Generally speaking, Rome Odunze had a tougher battle to compete for touches than the average top-ten pick at wide receiver. He finished his rookie year with 54 catches for 734 yards and three touchdowns.
Because of a crowded receiver room, Odunze underperformed from a production perspective compared to other receivers selected in the top ten since 2010, as the following chart would indicate:
However, just because Odunze didn’t reach 1,000 yards right out of the gate doesn’t mean he’s a bust. If anything, he outperformed by WR3 standards. Out of every player that finished third on their respective teams in targets, Odunze had the third-most receiving yards in the league.
Odunze was one of the best WR3s in the NFL last year. Without Keenan Allen to compete for touches with, expect bigger things from the Washington product in Year 2.
OT Kiran Amegadjie
Injuries plagued Kiran Amegadjie’s rookie season, which isn’t the start you’d prefer for an offensive tackle coming from the FCS level. He played in five games in total, starting in two in relief against the Washington Commanders in Week 5 and the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15.
Given his small-school status, his raw skill set and the fact that he dealt with injuries that held him out of training camp, Amegadjie was predictably behind the eight-ball as a rookie. In his two games he started, he allowed a combined eight pressures in pass protection and gave up one sack. All told, he graded at 40.3 by PFF on the season.
It’s hardly reason to write off Amegadjie entirely. This year, he’s had a full offseason to prepare and develop his craft at full strength. He’s a tremendous athlete at offensive tackle with 95th-percentile arm length. The expectations will be higher for him in Year 2 if he gets playing time, but he should be much more prepared this go around.
P Tory Taylor
When the Bears selected Tory Taylor in the fourth round, the indication of drafting a punter that high is that they expected him to be a massive upgrade right out of the gate.
He didn’t catapult into the NFL’s elite punting ranks as a rookie, but he certainly was an upgrade over Trenton Gill, who was consistently one of the worst starting punters in the league during his time with the Bears.
Taylor finished 15th in yards per punt with 47.7, as well as 20th in net yards per punt. He had the 13th-best touchback prevention percentage, and he finished 18th in punt percentage inside the 20-yard line.
Making his punts less returnable should be the focus for Taylor in 2025. He clearly has a big leg, and he demonstrated flashes of good downfield touch as a rookie. In order to maximize the potential he showed at Iowa, improving his net yards per punt will be huge. He was an average NFL punter as a rookie, which may have fallen just short of expectations, but he was still a definite upgrade for the Bears at the position.
DE Austin Booker
The Bears traded a future fourth-round pick in order to snag Austin Booker in Round 5 of the 2024 NFL Draft. They clearly thought highly enough of him to grab up that draft capital.
Booker stayed healthy for his entire rookie year, playing in all 17 games. He finished the year with 21 tackles, 1.5 sacks and three tackles for a loss. As one would expect for a raw rookie, he had his fair share of struggles, finishing with a PFF grade of just 52.5 on defense.
However, Booker was the 12th edge rusher off the board in the 2024 NFL Draft. He finished tied for eighth among rookie edge rushers in sacks. In the grand scheme of things, his production was decent value for where he got drafted.
UDFAs
Only two undrafted rookies saw playing time in 2024: linebacker Carl Jones and cornerback Reddy Steward. Both of them played in just one game
Steward, a preseason standout, played in the Bears’ loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 9. He forced a fumble and added one tackle on 18 defensive snaps. He since has been signed by the Minnesota Vikings to a futures contract.
Jones remains on the Bears on a futures contract. He played in the Bears’ loss to the New England Patriots in Week 10. He didn’t play on defense or tally any stats, but he took 12 snaps on special teams.