The Chicago Bears have been one of the busiest teams of the 2024 offseason, but their final Draft haul was surprisingly light.
They had the first overall pick and, as expected, ushered in a new era with Heisman-winning USC quarterback Caleb Williams. But they were not done: they also had the ninth overall pick and added a weapon for him in Washington wideout Rome Odunze.
After that, however, general manager Ryan Poles was rather light with his decisions. The franchise did not pick in Round 2, and their Round 3 selection was Yale offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie. Day 3 saw them draft Iowa punter Tory Taylor, one of only three special teamers taken all weekend long; and Missouri defensive end Austin Booker.
Meanwhile, some players who were left uncalled have received a reprieve from the Bears. They hope they will impress enough to become regulars.
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Chicago Bears 2024 Undrafted Free Agents Signings (Updating)
These are the list of Chicago Bears UDFA's so far:
- QB – Austin Reed, Western Kentucky
- RB – Ian Wheeler, Howard
- WR – Ty James, Mercer
- TE – Brenden Bates, Kentucky
- OT – Theo Benedet, UBC
- DT – Keith Randolph, Illinois
- DE – Jamree Kromah, James Madison
- LB – Carl Jones, UCLA
- CB – Reddy Steward, Troy
- CB – Leon Jones, Arkansas State
Austin Reed is a six-year, three-school veteran who threw for 4,744 yards and 40 touchdowns in his debut season with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.
Ian Wheeler was a bit player on offense at FCS program Howard, never having at least 400 rushing yards in each of his five seasons. However, he shone as a returner, scoring three touchdowns from kickoffs.
Ty James breached 1,000 receiving yards twice at FCS program Mercer and also hit double-digit touchdowns once.
Brendan Bates had minimal involvement at Kentucky, but did catch two scores as a Wildcat
Theo Benedet hails from Canada and is the nation's most accomplished collegiate offensive lineman, having become the first offensive player to win consecutive J.P. Metras Trophies and receiving All-Canadian honors.
Keith Randolph is staying home for the beginning of his professional career, having been born in Belleville and played collegiately at Illinois. He had 159 tackles (23 for loss), ten sacks, and six pass deflections with the Fighting Illini.
Jamree Kromah was an All-American at Group of Five school James Madison. In his last season, he had 60 tackles (20.5 for loss) and 11 sacks.
Carl Jones was a fringe contributor at UCLA, playing alongside Laiatu Latu. Primarily a containment player, he had 39 (31 solo) tackles and 2 sacks as a senior.
Reddy Steward and Leon Jones were each honorable mentions for the All-Sun Belt team in 2021, with the former eventually making the first team twice.
Chicago Bears 2024 NFL draft picks: A recap
Here are the list of players the Chicago Bears selected in the 2024 NFL Draft:
- Round 1, pick 1: Caleb Williams, QB
- Round 1, pick 9: Rome Odunze, WR
- Round 3, pick 75: Kiran Amegadjie, OT
- Round 4, pick 122: Tory Taylor, P
- Round 5, pick 144: Austin Booker, DE
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