Bears get all A's for Caleb Williams-Rome Odunze draft

It remains to be seen if Williams and Odunze will be as good as advertised, but draft analysts were virtually unanimous about the Bears’ draft: They took advantage of a tremendous opportunity. “There was only one rational path for the Bears to take, and they took it,”

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USC quarterback Caleb Williams celebrates with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being chosen by the Bears with the first overall pick during the first round of the NFL draft Thursday night.

USC quarterback Caleb Williams celebrates with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being chosen by the Bears with the first overall pick during the first round of the NFL draft Thursday night.

Jeff Roberson/AP

Bears fans are the only ones excited about the Bears’ draft.

From ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper, Jr. (“They nailed these ... picks.”) to every major outlet (and minor outlets, for that matter), the Bears’ selections of USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick and Washington WR Rome Odunze with the No. 9 overall pick were almost universally acclaimed.

CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco was the odd-man out, preferring LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels to Williams and giving the Bears a B+ for Odunze. For the record, Pete gave the Bears a D for Mitch Trubisky (“It makes no sense ... bad move”) and called Patrick Mahomes “the best QB in this draft” in 2017, so his tempered analysis can’t be discounted.

A sampling:

ESPN (Mel Kiper, Jr.):

ESPN (Mel Kiper, Jr.).png

The Athletic:

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NFL.com:

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Fox Sports (Rob Rang):

Fox Sports (Rob Rang).png
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CBS Sports (Pete Prisco):

CBS Sports (Pete Prisco).png
CBS Sports on Odunze.png

Yahoo Sports (Charles McDonald):

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Yahoo Sports (Odunze).png

USA Today (Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz):

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USA Today on Odunze.png
2024 NFL Draft
The Bears tried an ill-fated apprenticeship plan with Mitch Trubisky in 2017 (behind Mike Glennon) and Justin Fields in 2021 (behind Andy Dalton). But the 2024 Bears are set up for Williams as the Week 1 starter.
“My last goal is immortality,” Williams said two hours after the Bears made him their first-ever No. 1 overall pick at quarterback. “The only way to reach that is winning championships.’'
They’ll go into Williams’ rookie season with DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Odunze at wide receiver.
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The position has been a headache for Poles, but now he has stacked DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Odunze for incoming quarterback Caleb Williams.

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