Caleb Williams of Southern California was chosen by the Chicago Bears as the first overall choice in Thursday’s NFL draft in Detroit. He was followed by quarterbacks Drake Maye of North Carolina and Jayden Daniels of LSU, selected by the Washington Commanders and the New England Patriots, respectively.

The first 12 picks included six quarterbacks: Williams, Daniels, Maye, J.J. McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr., and Bo Nix. The highest number of offensive players to hear their names called in an NFL draft was 23, overall.

Last season, Williams—who is widely regarded as the best prospect—threw for 3,633 yards, 30 touchdowns, and five interceptions. After leading the Trojans from a four-win club to an 11-win squad the previous season, he was awarded the Heisman Trophy as the greatest player in college football. Over the course of 13 games in 2022, Williams passed for 4,075 yards, 37 touchdowns, and just four interceptions.

Thanks to a significant deal that occurred prior to the 2023 draft, the Bears were able to select Williams. The No. 1 pick at the time, held by Chicago, was traded to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for receiver DJ Moore, first- and second-round selections from 2023, a 2024 first-round selection, and a 2025 second-round selection. In the 2024 draft, that first-round selection would eventually be selected as the top pick.

Williams joins a revamped Chicago squad that this summer added running back D’Andre Swift and acquired six-time Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen. Moore and tight end Cole Kmet are two more budding talents for the Bears.

The LSU standout Daniels was ranked No. 2 by the Commanders. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound quarterback had one of the most thrilling seasons in college football history and went on to win the 2023 Heisman Trophy. In addition to gaining 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground, he passed for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns, and just four interceptions.

The Patriots drafted Maye third overall. He is the ideal stature for the position at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, and he has been compared to Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers, who is a signal-caller. Maye, who won the ACC Player of the Year award as a sophomore and the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2022, completed his junior season with a throwing total of 3,608 yards, 24 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.

The selection of Michael Penix Jr. by the Atlanta Falcons at No. 8 was the biggest surprise. The Washington quarterback was selected not only earlier than most had anticipated, but also by the same team that this summer signed veteran signal-caller Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract with a $100 million guarantee.

It caught me off guard. Mike McCartney, the agent for Cousins, texted the NFL Network, saying, “We had no idea this was coming.” In actuality, nobody in the league knew this was going to happen. We were not warned. The Falcons called Kirk while they were in overtime. The first thing we heard was that. It was never discussed in any dialogue.

Bears Are Advised to Get Back Together With Former Pro Bowl Edge Rusher

During the offseason, the Chicago Bears have given their supporters a lot to cheer about, but one of those things isn’t a new pass rush.

With 20 total sacks, Chicago had the poorest pass-rushing defense in the NFL in 2022. Even after boosting that number to 30 sacks the previous season, the Bears were still 31st out of 32 teams in this important statistical category.

Thus, former Pro Bowler and Bear Yannick Ngakoue was named by Joe Tansey of Bleacher Report on Monday, August 5, as one of three free agents Chicago “must target” in the approximately one month leading up to the start of the regular season.

“The Bears may turn to some seasoned pass-rushing support to play opposite [Montez] Sweat if Austin Booker is not ready,” Tansey said. “They will try to give Austin Booker as much time to impress in preseason as possible.” “In a Chicago uniform last season, Ngakoue recorded [6] tackles for loss and [4] sacks. In 2024, that same level of output would be appreciated.

2023 Was Yannick Ngakoue’s Worst Year in a Bears Career

Ngakoue signed a one-year, $10.5 million contract with the Bears on August 4 of last year. This was a significantly delayed signing, and he would sign again later this time should a deal materialize.

But the money would most likely not be the same. Ngakoue, 29, is one year older and has just finished his worst eight-year career season. Over the course of 13 games, he only produced 4 sacks. Ngakoue recorded eight sacks or more in each of the previous seven seasons.

He missed four games due to a fractured ankle he had late in the season last year, which contributed to some of the results. But in May, Ngakoue shared a video of himself performing agility drills on social media, along with the question “What ankle?” in the description.

It appears that Ngakoue is back to full health, but his price will drop due to an injury and a poor season doing what he does best, which is pressure the quarterback. In addition, the defensive end’s continued availability suggests that none of the other 31 cities in the league has been able to satisfy his expectations about price and/or duration of contract, giving Chicago the upper hand in negotiations despite its deficiencies at the position.

In rookie season, Bears Austin Booker is probably not ready to take over for Yannick Ngakoue.

The primary cause of Chicago’s increase in sack total from 20 to 30 last season was Sweat’s acquisition from the Washington Commanders prior to the 2023 trade deadline.

The Bears lost out on a second-round choice in this year’s draft, but it was a wise decision as Sweat finished with six sacks for Chicago in just nine games, totaling thirteen sacks, and was selected to his first Pro Bowl.

But Booker, a Kansas rookie selected in the fifth round, may end up handling most of the job if the team doesn’t acquire another pure pass rusher like Ngakoue in free agency. During his final season in college, Booker recorded eight sacks and twelve tackles for loss, but there was a reason why he tumbled to the ground the way he did. It was mostly because the majority of assessors continue to characterize his skill set as unpolished and raw.

In April, the Scouting Department of Bleacher Report noted, “Whichever team drafts Booker will have to be patient with him, as he’ll probably only be a situational pass rusher for a year or two.”

In advance of a game against the Buffalo Bills on August 10, Chicago unveiled its second unofficial preseason depth chart on Monday. Booker is listed as the team’s third-string defensive end. For a gifted rookie project, for him to fill a starting role even somewhat similar to what Ngakoue did last season may be asking too much.

The simplest and safest course of action for the Bears would be to deploy roughly half of their $12.2 million salary cap room on Ngakoue for a year, relieving some of the load on Booker during his rookie season.