Matt Eberflus breaks down Chicago’s NFL Draft choices |
CHICAGO - The NFL Draft has officially come to an end. The Bears made a total of five selections - quarterback Caleb Williams No. 1 overall, wide receiver Rome Odunze No. 9 overall, offensive tackle Kiran Amegadija at No. 75 overall, punter Tory Taylor No. 122 overall and defensive lineman Austin Booker No. 144 overall. Chicago addressed all three areas of the game with some key additions.
The selection of quarterback Caleb Williams was the most predictable pick of the entire draft. It was clear for a long time that this was the direction Chicago was going toward. Head coach Matt Eberflus was incredibly involved in interviewing Williams and getting to know him not only as a player but also as a person. “Just when you go through the process with him, you can tell that he’s all ball. He loves football, and he’s diving into it,” Eberflus said. “When he was a running back and switched over to quarterback as a youngster and then the amount of time that he really put into studying the position and really working his craft, trying to master his craft. Really, you saw that when he won the Heisman and where he is right now in terms of his game, and you can definitely see that he loves the game.” What every franchise quarterback needs is a wide receiver to throw to. The Bears already had Pro Bowlers Keenan Allen and DJ Moore. Now, they also have Odunze. He played four seasons for the University of Washington, becoming a dominant starter in his final two years. Particularly in 2023, he made his mark and made him a top-10 pick with his 1,640 receiving yards and 13 receiving touchdowns. What Eberflus was most impressed with in regard to Odunze was his explosiveness. “Just the explosiveness, the ability, and I love the work ethic. His story is just all about work, and I just love that, and he’s going to fit right in with our group,” Odunze said. “But, just the explosiveness that he brings because it’s fun to be able to throw DJ or Rome or Keenan a little five-yard pass, and all the sudden, it turns into 20 or 25, which looks pretty good on the stat line. But, also explosive plays are about winning. You win with explosive plays. Those guys bring that to the team.” Along with the addition of Amegadjia, the Bears have made countless additions to their offense in order to build it around Williams and make Chicago a highly explosive offense next season. Eberflus sees Chicago as tough to defend but also thinks their high level of skill will benefit the defense and allow them to develop. “I think it’s going to be tough to defend. Start with practice. We have to defend those guys in practice,” Eberflus said. “I think it’s going to be really good for our skill set on both sides of the ball because you look at the receiving core, they’re all different. Our halfbacks are all different. The tight ends are different. Their different skill sets.” Chicago could not end the draft without acquiring a defensive player. That someone would be Booker, whom they gave up their fourth-rounder next season to draft. While he has minimal playing time and starting experience and perhaps should have stayed in college one more year, he has a lot of talent that Chicago will be able to develop to make him a quality player, one who will play alongside edge rusher Montez Sweat. “He’s a guy that’s got a lot of upside. He’s long, he’s fast, he’s got a lot of burst to close. You can definitely see that and he plays an aggressive style and we’re excited to have him too,” Eberflus said. “He’s got a slippery way about him. Some rushers just have the ability to work around the tackle on the outside and there’s a couple other guys that were like that in the draft this year. But, he’s definitely one of those guys, natural ability to really rush the passer and understand when he gets to the top of the rush, if he’s stuck, he can work back inside. Saw that on the tape as well. Most impressed by his hustle and his disposition, the way he plays the position.”
