The Chicago Bears pulled off one of the biggest heists in first round history during the opening night of the 2024 NFL Draft just by being patient with their two selections.
After selecting USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the first overall pick, the Bears shockingly stayed and selected with the ninth overall pick, despite rumors that the team would look to make a move one way or another.
In the end, the Bears lucked out and came away with Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze with the ninth overall pick, although it almost didn’t work out that way.
After the first round came to a close, Bears' general manager Ryan Poles addressed the media sharing an inside look at how the team managed to come away with both Williams and Odunze during the opening night.
“If you told me we’d end up with both Caleb and Rome weeks ago, I would’ve said you were crazy,” Poles explained. "They were two guys that obviously we're really excited to have. Not only are they really good players, but really good people as well that are going to continue to enhance our locker room."
Everyone knew that the Bears would select Williams with the first pick of the night, but even Poles was shocked that he was able to land Odunze as well, in fact, he narrowly made an aggressive move to secure his top target until assistant general manager Ian Cunningham convinced him otherwise to remain patient.
"Ian and I sequenced the board out all the way across and Rome was extremely high on that list," Poles said. "That's why I was nervous. He wasn't gonna be there at nine or simulations had about a 50/50 shot if he was gonna be there. But as it started to unfold, he had to hold me back from not trying to trade up and do something crazy to get him but it ended up working out really well."
Coming away with both Williams and Odunze was a massive win for the Bears and the future for the organization. It finally feels like for the first time since he became the general manager that this is the team Poles his proud to be putting on the field.
"We're bringing players in here that want to really just change everything up and do things a different way," he explained. "Obviously, we love our history here, but it hasn't been smooth recently and it's time to change. So, I just feel like we got to stop pulling back all the time."
While the Bears didn’t quite make the aggressive move Poles was looking to make to send a message to the rest of the NFL, the team still landed both of their top players on the board who will each have a critical role in altering the course of the team's future.
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