Bears general manager Ryan Poles appeared on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday to break down the team’s draft picks. After selecting Caleb Williams first, Rome Odunze ninth and offensive lineman Kiran Amegadjie in the third round, the Bears picked Iowa punter Tory Taylor in the fourth.
McAfee was excited to hear what Poles had to say about the All-American Ray Guy Award winner and for good reason. Poles clearly feels like the Bears picked up a legitimate weapon in Taylor and feels like he’s the kind of player who will make opposing teams “uncomfortable.”
“I love taking advantage of field position and Tory Taylor is gonna make it uncomfortable for other teams..
“I didn’t expect him to get much further. Definitely didn’t think I’d be able to pick him up when we got to the fifth round,” Poles said. “And, really, the thought process there is to make anyone we’re playing really uncomfortable. I didn’t play much in the NFL but I know running onto the field and having the ball spotted inside the 10-yard line is a very uncomfortable feeling. It’s disheartening at times. And I love taking advantage of field position. And, really, that should help us with points as well. So I think he’s going to add to our team and again make it uncomfortable for any team we’re going against.”
Contrast that with Caleb Williams’ intial text message to his new teammate: “hey you’re not going to punt too much here.” That’s the thing about punters. It’s nice to have a good one, but no one actually ever wants to see them play because that means a drive stalled.
That’s the beauty of football. It’s eleven different players doing very different jobs in concert on every single play. They say it takes a village to raise a child, but it takes almost as many to win a football game. If Taylor doesn’t get much action this season, it would seem this was a wasted pick, but if he does see a lot of playing time, that’s not a great sign for the Bears top pick either. Hopefully, the Bears can find a happy medium or Poles will end up being the one who feels uncomfortable.
Five years ago, in “The Art of Coaching” documentary that highlighted the bond between Bill Belichick and Nick Saban, the then-Alabama coach ripped off a rant on NFL teams, and how they handled evaluating his players ahead of the draft.
“One thing that you do, that a lot of the NFL guys don’t do, I don’t know that you’ve ever picked one of our guys if you never talked to me before picking him,” Saban said to Belichick. “And there’s a few other guys in the league that do that. But then there’s another 30 teams that I never hear from, and then they pick somebody and I’m saying, ‘They picked that guy?’ And then they say, ‘Well, we didn’t know this.’ Well, all you had to do is call and I would have told you the good stuff and I would’ve told you any issue.”
Count the Detroit Lions as a team that listens to Saban.
Two consecutive years, they’ve come away from the NFL draft with the guy NFL folks had tabbed as the legendary coach’s favorite in the class. Last year, it was Brian Branch, who became an integral part of the Detroit defense, and a Swiss Army knife for defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. This year, it’s Terrion Arnold, a corner the Lions never thought would be there in the 20s.
Detroit had actually laid groundwork for a trade up—I believe Missouri DE Darius Robinson was the target—which made it easy to pivot and get aggressive in going up from No. 29 to No. 24 to land a falling Arnold.
For his part, Saban loved how Arnold took hard coaching, and attacked the challenge the coaches put in front of him, in sticking with him at corner rather than projecting him to safety like other schools had in recruiting him. Also, Detroit took note of how Saban played him at the “star” position (nickel corner), as well as outside corner. As the Lions see it, being deployed as the star at Alabama is a huge sign of trust and respect from Saban, because of the mental and physical burden he puts on that spot, and the versatility he demands from it.
Branch, for what it’s worth, played a lot there, too.
In this case, it wasn’t like it had been the year before, where GM Brad Holmes personally connected with Saban (they’d talked about Branch and Jahmyr Gibbs last year). But Detroit did have a couple of high-level staffers get to Saban on Arnold, confirming what they’d seen. Which, in the end, made going after Arnold a no-brainer when he slipped.
• There are a lot of stories where a fortunate twist can play into a team drafting a certain player—and the Chargers will have one of those from 2024 if, years from now, OT Joe Alt becomes the sort of franchise cornerstone Joe Hortiz and Jim Harbaugh think he can be.
The fact that the GM and coach were new did limit, to a degree, what they were personally able to do during this draft cycle. But the Chargers were able to get guys out on the road enough, both on the coaching and scouting side. And one such lieutenant that traveled around was veteran line coach Mike Devlin.
As luck would have it, he was assigned to run drills for the offensive line prospects at Notre Dame’s pro day in March. That allowed Devlin to challenge Alt, and to also get to know him better with the extra time he’d get with the Irish captain. Now, it’s not like there were too many revelations on the visit. Everyone knew what sort of player he was. But with the Chargers also liking Alabama RT JC Latham, the little things did make a difference.
The biggest question now is where Alt will fit on the line. All 33 of his starts at Notre Dame came at left tackle, the position Rashawn Slater plays for the Chargers. The plan is to let Alt compete for the starting right tackle spot. That said, he played tight end in high school, and wound up starting at left tackle as a true freshman at Notre Dame. So the lift might not be as heavy for Alt as it would be for others.
And that’s what made this pick so easy for the Chargers. Alt will figure it out, and at a baseline be a really good pro with a chance to be much better, making him the rare high floor-high ceiling prospect. He has some stuff to work on such as his ability to anchor (though the Chargers would tell you to watch how, in those spots, he bends and recovers). But with the presence and intelligence he showed the Chargers in meetings, it’s a good bet that Alt will keep ascending.
The Chiefs guaranteed all $17 million of Kelce's salary for 2024.
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
• The Chiefs did right by Travis Kelce, giving the future Hall of Famer what amounts to a plain-old raise Monday—usually teams will require adding years to a player’s contract in exchange, or moving money away from a future year, for giving them this sort of pay bump.
Kelce’s existing contract had a $12 million base salary for this year, with another $750,000 in per-game roster bonuses, and a $250,000 roster bonus. The Chiefs gave him another $4 million, guaranteeing all $17 million for 2023. They left his $17.25 million for 2025 intact, added a trigger that’ll guarantee most of it in March (in the form of an $11.5 million roster bonus due on the third day of the league year), and force the team to make a decision on whether to keep him at the start of free agency.
The two-year deal makes Kelce the highest paid tight end in the NFL heading into a season in which he’ll turn 35. It’s also, truth be told, not that big of a number. He’s making less, in fact, on an APY (average per year) basis than Cleveland Browns WR Jerry Jeudy. Which is to say everything is relative, and in that sense a great tight end is a much better deal in today’s NFL than is a good receiver.
• As happy as the Minnesota Vikings were to get J.J. McCarthy where they did with the 10th pick, I’d say they were more surprised that pass rusher Dallas Turner slipped as deep into the teens as he did, which prompted the reaction from Kevin O’Connell that the team’s in-house crew captured.
In the end, they got two guys who were projected in the top 10 in a series of trade-ups without giving up an additional first-round pick to do it. The downside? It comes in volume. They wound up with seven picks after coming in with nine, and none of those picks came on Day 2 (they had one pick between 17 and 177, and that was at 108). As it stands now, they will have only four picks next year—their own first-rounder, a third-round compensatory pick for Kirk Cousins, their own fifth-rounder, and another fifth-rounder they acquired in the Za’Darius Smith trade.
• With the deadline Thursday, we know that nine of the top 12 picks in the 2021 draft have had their fifth-year option picked up. The three that haven’t, and won’t, are all quarterbacks who have been traded—Zach Wilson, Trey Lance and Justin Fields.
The teams that took those three certainly felt the pain of the misses, but each has recovered nicely. And throw Mac Jones in there, and you have four of five first-round quarterbacks from that year’s class dealt, without a single Day 1 or Day 2 pick included in any of the four trades.
• Interestingly enough, only six of the remaining 22 first-rounders from that year have had their fifth-year options picked up.
• Ezekiel Elliott showed last year with the New England Patriots that he can still play. That said, the Dallas Cowboys can’t run him the way they did in Elliott’s previous stint. I was pretty surprised, as such, that the Cowboys didn’t use one of their eight picks on the position, though they do think highly of Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn.
• It wasn’t a huge surprise that the New York Giants punted on quarterback with Drake Maye three picks before their first-round selection at No. 6—word circulated around the NFL that New York had become a Maye-or-no-QB team over the couple of weeks leading up to the draft. And since they did offer their 2025 first-rounder to get to No. 3, you can see New York saw a gap between the top three and the next three in the class.
• As for how the teams had the guys ranked, the Vikings really dove in on the guys after the top two, and had Maye (for whom they offered 11, 23 and a 2025 first-rounder, with pick swaps favoring them bringing some value back), then McCarthy. The Falcons had Michael Penix Jr. behind Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels (with a few folks in their building personally having Penix second). And Denver had Nix behind only Williams and Daniels.
Latu could be a huge get for the Colts if his neck in healthy.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
• I can appreciate the video of Colts GM Chris Ballard saying the Indianapolis Colts got the draft’s best pass rusher in Laiatu Latu. Most people, maybe all, I talked to about the UCLA star before the draft told me his tape was the best among the pass rushers. But that’s not the question with Latu; it’s the condition of his nick. But if he’s healthy? Paired with DeForest Buckner in that front, look out.
Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams' greatness has been evident since his high school days, as his athleticism and arm strength was unprecedented for those who coached him.
Williams was the consensus top quarterback recruit in the country out of Gonzaga College High School in Washington D.C. and the velocity that he put on his throws at a young age foreshadowed what he has become. Just ask his high school offensive coordinator, Danny Schaechter.
During preseason camp in 2018, Schaechter caught a pass from Williams and looked down at his left hand, which was throbbing in pain and covered in blood. He realized that a pass from Williams had broken his wedding ring and cut his finger open.
"I'm like, 'What in the heck did I do?' And then I realized, 'Oh crap, my wedding ring is split in half,'" Schaechter told ESPN. Schaechter now wears his wedding ring on a chain around his neck when he is doing anything football-related, thanks to Caleb Williams.
"Because of Caleb, I take my wedding ring off anytime I'm going to do some football stuff," he said. "I don't want anybody to break my wedding ring, but he was the only one who actually did it."
Williams's arm strength was one of several key traits that helped him get taken with the No. 1 pick in last week's NFL draft.
That arm strength was on display in 2018, and is even more prominent now in 2024.
With the 2024 NFL draft in the books, it’s time to look at which rookies from the first round will deliver dynamic seasons.
Last year, the Houston Texans got it right by selecting quarterback C.J. Stroud and edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. at No. 2 and No. 3. Stroud and Anderson won Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year, respectively. The year before that, the Jets had both the Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year with receiver Garrett Wilson and cornerback Sauce Gardner.
As for a pattern between the Texans and Jets, they both had two top-10 picks. That was the case for the Chicago Bears last week, but both of their picks were on the offensive side. Will a player from Chicago win Offensive Rookie of the Year?
Let’s examine which first-round picks will make an immediate impact.
Caleb Williams, QB, Chicago Bears
Williams has the daunting task of ending the Bears’ lengthy drought of not having a legitimate franchise quarterback throw for 4,000 yards in a season. He has the skill set, arm strength and athleticism to quickly become a star, especially with DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and rookie Rome Odunze as his top three receivers. If the offensive line protects Williams, the Bears’ offense could quickly become a top-10 unit in 2024.
Although Williams has the luxury of throwing to a receiving corps that could end up being one of the best in the league, he’ll need to remind himself to lean on his weapons and not play hero ball, an area that often got him in trouble at the college level due to his strength of creating plays amid chaos. If he keeps it simple his rookie year, he might be the runaway front-runner for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Odunze, the No. 9 pick, could also make an immediate impact, but it might be tough for him to get targets playing behind Allen and Moore.
Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Arizona Cardinals
Harrison was dominant at Ohio State and will hope to continue that run alongside Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray.
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA
With how dominant Harrison was at Ohio State, adding him to this list was a no-brainer. It would not be surprising to see him make the Pro Bowl with similar numbers to what Rams receiver Puka Nacua did last season (105 catches, 1,486 yards and six TDs). Harrison will make the Cardinals better, but he’ll also benefit from having Kyler Murray as his quarterback and Drew Petzing as the offensive play-caller. The Cardinals had a terrible roster a year ago, but managed to defeat the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles.
Harrison could also have decent matchups based on how well wide receiver Michael Wilson and tight end Trey McBride played last season. Expect the Cardinals to take steps forward this season with Harrison leading the charge.
Joe Alt, OT, Los Angeles Chargers
Many Chargers fans weren’t pleased about the first pick in the Jim Harbaugh era being an offensive tackle instead of a wide receiver. Yes, Los Angeles needed wide receivers, which it later addressed in the draft with Ladd McConkey and Brenden Rice, but protecting Justin Herbert was more important.
The Chargers got it right by adding the massive 6'9," 321-pound Joe Alt, pairing him with Rashawn Slater and giving Herbert outstanding bookend tackles for years to come. If Alt is forced to play right tackle—Slater has been the Chargers’ left tackle since 2021—he might struggle for a few weeks, but he will likely get the hang of it in his rookie season. If he wins the left tackle job, Alt has the makings of being an All-Pro, something Slater accomplished in his ’21 rookie season.
Brock Bowers, TE, Las Vegas Raiders
Bowers could give the Raiders a reliable rookie pass-catcher right away.
Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK
Some were shocked to see the Raiders draft the best available player at No. 13 instead of addressing needs at cornerback or the offensive line. With the top five quarterbacks off the board, new Raiders GM Tom Telesco made the right decision by taking Brock Bowers, who might have been a top-10 pick had he played wide receiver instead of tight end.
Many were too caught up in the position Bowers plays and overlooked his gifts as a versatile pass catcher. He’ll likely gain many yards up the seam for veteran quarterback Gardner Minshew. Look for Raiders offensive coordinator Luke Getsy to use Bowers all over the field.
Taliese Fuaga, OT, New Orleans Saints
Fuaga is the ideal body guard for Derek Carr due to his toughness in the trenches and high-level run blocking skills. He’ll likely be a plug-and-play starter at right tackle and could end up having a similar rookie season to Penei Sewell and Tristan Wirfs from a few years back.
The Saints aren’t receiving enough credit for this pick because they have issues at left tackle and Fuaga primarily played at right tackle at Oregon State. But he does provide versatility as a player who can play on the inside, and maybe his polished skills and strength could one day make him a quality left tackle. But for now, the Saints shouldn’t overthink it and play Fuaga at his best position.
Jared Verse, Edge, Los Angeles Rams
Verse is a versatile edge rusher that could help bring the Rams defense into the post-Aaron Donald era.
Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY
Not many viewed Verse as the top edge rusher in the draft, but he was often sandwiched between Laiatu Latu and Dallas Turner as the No. 2 player at the position. Some rated Latu No. 1 because of his upside, but he also has injury concerns. Others ranked Turner No. 1 because of his polished skills, but pointed out his lack of size and strength.
As for Verse, he might provide the most versatility with his blend of speed and power. And after what the Rams did with their rookies last season, Verse could be in an ideal situation to become an immediate impact player. He’ll play next to last year’s rookie sensations, Byron Young and Kobie Turner, on the Rams’ revamped defensive front, which also includes Verse’s Florida State teammate, Braden Fiske. The Rams could soon have a dominant defensive front in the post-Aaron Donald era.
Terrion Arnold, CB, Detroit Lions
Arnold could end up being the steal of the draft after falling to No. 24. He will likely win a starting job as an outside corner because of his athleticism and exceptional skills in man-to-man coverage. He also will have plenty of help playing alongside veteran Carlton Davis III and slot cornerback Brian Branch, the Lions’ impressive rookie from last season.
Arnold lacks size at 6'0," 196 pounds, but his polished skills in coverage and nose for the ball will likely allow him to make an immediate impact. Don’t be surprised if he quickly gains the respect and trust of his teammates with how impressive he was in team and media interviews during the lead-up to the draft.
