D+
Chicago Bears
The Bears left with their quarterback, and a D+ to match.
by HuntressAri ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 15 picks
· 3 steals
· 1 reaches
Every swap seemed to tilt away from the Bears, and the value they bled adds up to real damage. Put together, it is a D+.
Caleb Williams gives the offense a face and a plan, and the grade leans heavily on whether he hits. It is not that Hicks is a bad player; it is that the Bears had louder needs to answer first. The linebacker spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
Every board in the league had Haynes lower, and that gap is the story. Hunter falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch.
Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, linebacker very much included.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 2nd pick they get their guy under center for the next decade. A clean fit for the roster.
In the 23rd overall pick they get a quarterback's worst nightmare at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A slide stopped in slot 36, with Keon Coleman worth more than the price. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A straight-up fair deal on Xavier Worthy at the Round 2 slot, value and slot in agreement. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They paid up for Christian Haynes at pick No. 67 when waiting would have done the job. The roster fit checks out.
Cooper Beebe in pick 75 is fair value, right on his grade. A need, and now a little less of one.
Tykee Smith at No. 100 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A minor itch, scratched.
By-the-book stuff, Leonard Taylor III at Round 4, Pick 5 squarely in line with his ranking. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Ray Davis at the 110th pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They bypassed pressing needs at linebacker to take Jaden Hicks, a safety that was not the priority.
A market-rate edge rusher, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Darius Robinson. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They did well to land Kris Abrams-Draine in Round 4, Pick 26, just ahead of his grade. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
McCallan Castles at slot 146 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Nathan Thomas is a better player than pick 186 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Jontrey Hunter at pick No. 232 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.