Bears select USC QB Caleb Williams, Washington WR Rome Odunze in Round 1 of 2024 NFL Draft

The presumptive top pick for months, Caleb Williams is officially headed to the Windy City.

On Thursday in Detroit, the Chicago Bears chose Williams as their No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Eight selections later, the Bears added to Williams’ arsenal by selecting Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze with the No. 9 overall pick of the draft.

The University of Southern California talent, celebrated as a generational prodigy, possesses unique qualities that have made him the anticipated first pick of the draft since his Heisman Trophy win in 2022.

Williams has a sharp sense of pocket awareness and the agility to prolong plays, making extraordinary feats look ordinary. The 6-foot-1 quarterback skillfully blends precision and speed to target any part of the field. He can launch the ball from various arm angles to create opportunities and has the capacity to execute plays off-platform. Williams’ talent for accurately and gently delivering the football, frequently throwing it over defenders, is well-suited for more advanced play. His ability to quickly read pressure, release the ball, and pose a threat to the defense with his agility makes him a formidable player in the RPO game.

The 22-year-old quarterback, Williams, blends his innate passing skills with a dynamic ability to make plays using his footwork. He cleverly evades immediate pressures, creates opportunities, and makes significant ground plays. His athletic build helps him to dodge tacklers, run over smaller opponents, and cause adversaries to miss in open spaces, leading to impressive touchdown runs. His running skills also make him a lethal threat in the red zone.

Williams’ vivacious passing talent and instinctive rushing ability solidified his position as a top quarterback prospect.

Life isn’t always easy for the Washington, D.C. native. Like all new quarterbacks, Williams is still honing his skills. He sometimes holds onto the ball for too long, hoping for a substantial play. This tendency has resulted in a number of sacks during his college career. Williams often relies on his rushing skills rather than opting for an easier checkdown. As with most rookies, he needs to stop focusing solely on his No. 1 read and progress more swiftly. In the NFL, where those seeking big plays often struggle, Williams needs to become more consistent within the offense. He also needs to better secure the ball both in the pocket and while running, especially after his fumbling issues reached a peak in 2023.

The Bears are relying on Williams’ exceptional potential to finally break their streak of unsuccessful performances at the quarterback position.

Not since the days of Sid Luckman have the Bears had a consistently dynamic signal-caller who was undoubtedly one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. Even as Jim McMahon led the Bears to a Super Bowl victory, he wasn’t a top-15 passer. Since the turn of the Millennium, Chicago has seen the likes of Jim Miller, Rex Grossman, Kyle Orton, Jay Cutler, Mitchell Trubisky and, most recently, Justin Fields attempt to stop the generational string of substandard quarterback play that yarned its way from the 1950s.

A few highlights have emerged over the years, but a sustainable solution has never been found. The Bears’ record for the most passing yards in a single season, established by Erik Kramer in 1995, remains at 3,838 yards. However, in 2023 alone, this figure was topped by 14 different quarterbacks.

Amid this scenario of positional weakness, Williams emerges as a surge of hope on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Chicago thought it had its answer to the quarterback quandary when the Bears moved up to draft Fields in the first round in 2021. Fields showed promise, boasting electric running ability and improving as a passer in Year 3. Alas, injury issues coupled with Chicago netting the No. 1 overall pick thanks to last year’s trade with the Carolina Panthers led to the club moving on from Fields this offseason.

Many debates about the future course were held in the Windy City before the Bears traded Fields to Pittsburgh in return for a conditional 2025 sixth-round pick. Should they choose Williams? Retain Fields and exchange the first pick for a significant haul? By sending Fields away for a meager return, General Manager Ryan Poles put an end to all the speculation.

This is Williams’ team going forward.

It’s uncommon for a No. 1 overall pick to join a team that has only won seven games but is still capable of immediate competition.

Under head coach Matt Eberflus, the Bears showed signs of improvement down the stretch, including better play from the defensive side of the ball following the trade for Montez Sweat. The signing of D'Andre Swift also provides a reliable dual-threat veteran to the backfield. The offseason trade for Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen to pair with DJ Moore gives Williams a great veteran one-two combo to help the rookie transition, and the addition of Odunze gives Williams a third option he’s familiar with.

Following an exceptional final season at Washington, Odunze has now joined the NFL. As the primary target in a dynamic Huskies offense, he caught 92 passes, the best in the FBS, for 1,640 yards and 13 touchdowns, propelling them to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Notably, Odunze’s rise started a year prior, when he caught 75 passes for 1,145 yards and seven touchdowns. This performance earned him first-team All-Pac-12 Conference and third-team All-American accolades. Those who have been following his career will recognize these achievements.

Indeed, Odunze’s exceptional performance in 2023 marked his breakout season, where he distinguished himself as a top-tier professional prospect at the college level, deserving of first-round consideration. His superior performance led Odunze to be one of the only two players to rank in the top 10 in terms of receiving yards in the FBS in 2022 and 2023. The other player to achieve this distinction was Marvin Harrison Jr. from Ohio State, who was the leading receiver in the class for over a year, and was picked by the Cardinals as the 4th choice.

Odunze, standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing 212 pounds, boasts impressive skills in tracking the ball, which aids him in every aspect of receiving passes. His prowess lies in making contested catches and he is a consistent scorer, frequently winning jump balls thanks to his excellent positioning, body control, and hand strength. His ability to reel in back-shoulder fades in the end zone corners mirrors that of a seasoned NFL veteran.

This blend of size and pure ability should make him an instant high-volume contributor in the NFL, where Odunze is built to withstand tighter coverage and still come out on top. He has room to improve, too, in the route-running department, and is already working on it by intensely studying one of the top route-runners, Raiders star Davante Adams. If he adds Adams’ polish to his arsenal, the Bears’ investment in him will pay off in droves.

The hiring of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron should work well with Williams’ skill set. The former Seahawks OC displayed creativity in his design and play-calling the past three seasons in Seattle. He showed a willingness to adjust to his personnel and helped Geno Smith rejuvenate his career. Expect an uptick of RPOs from Waldron this season to take advantage of what Williams does well and give the rookie some easy reads. The pieces are in place for an entertaining offense in Chicago in 2024 — a phrase that hasn’t been written much in the past several decades.

In a league that greatly values balance, often emphasizing statistics about rapid improvements and teams transitioning from being the worst to the best each season, the Bears could potentially be the exemplar for 2024. A significant portion of this success hinges on the speed at which Williams performs in his first year.

For generations, Chicago has longed for a transformative quarterback. According to all reports, the Bears have finally secured one.