Grading the Chicago Bears' draft picks in the 2024 NFL Draft

Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze speak at Halas Hall after arriving in Chicago

The Chicago Bears have introduced their top draft picks at Halas Hall. Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze spoke to the media Friday afternoon.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - The Chicago Bears' five-man 2024 NFL Draft Class is finalized. On Saturday, the Bears made a pick and traded back in the make another selection.

The Bears' draft class looks like:

Quarterback Caleb Williams
Wide receiver Rome Odunze
Offensive lineman Kiran Amegadjie
Punter Tory Taylor
Edge rusher Austin Booker

Here's how we grade the Bears' 2024 NFL Draft picks:

Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze

Grade: A+

This one was easy to grade Thursday night, and it still holds up.

The Bears grabbed a generational quarterback prospect and a receiver who would be the best in the draft if it weren't for Marvin Harrison Jr.

That was a slam dunk of a first round that transformed the entire complexion of the Chicago Bears offense in one night.

How could it be anything other than an A grade?

Kiran Amegadjie - Offensive Lineman, Yale

Grade: B

There are acceptable reasons to look at Amegadjie's selection and wonder why the Bears opted for an FCS player coming off an injury, as opposed to a high-major player.

However, Ryan Poles' explanation for the pick gives plenty of context to it.

Amegadjie is a strong player. He's reminiscent to Poles picking Braxton Jones out of Southern Utah, where Jones possessed the size and strength to be an NFL starter but needed to bridge the gap between his tools and his technique.

In college, he certainly has the accolades. Amegadjie was a First-team All-Ivy League player in 2022 and 2023.

Where Amegadjie brings the most value to the Bears, however, is his versatility. Poles said Amegadjie has the ability to play multiple positions, which is something the Bears' offensive line needs. Amegadjie played guard during his time at Yale.

That versatility can help the Bears if the injury bug hits, or if they have more of a need at one position as opposed to another.

Tory Taylor - Punter, Iowa

Grade: B

The Chicago Bears had plenty of needs on the defensive line in the 2024 NFL Draft. They need a 3-technique defensive tackle, too.

Why would they take a punter in the fourth round of the draft when plenty of options were still available?

The joke "punters are people, too" is a funny quip when discussing punters in any NFL Draft, but Iowa's Tory Taylor isn't simply a punter.

Taylor is arguably the best punter prospect in years. He aligns with what the Bears wanted to do in the 2024 NFL Draft, which was create competition at positions where the Bears wanted to see improvement.

Adding the best punter prospect in years is a good way to do so. Taylor owns plenty of punting records from his time at Iowa, mostly because of the sheer usage they got out of him as the Hawkeyes offense struggled, to put it lightly.

Was a fourth-round pick too high for a punter? Perhaps, but that was the Bears final pick at the time and they wanted to make sure they got their guy.

If Taylor lives up to his billing, the punter position could be locked up for a long, long time in Chicago.

Austin Booker - Edge, Kansas

Grade: B+

This pick comes with a few different viewpoints.

The Bears needed an edge rusher and they got one.

The Bears also needed to trade back into the NFL Draft to get Booker, costing them a fourth-round pick next year.

Beyond that, Booker is seen as a far-from-complete prospect, as some consider him a raw prospect.

Booker, however, had a third-round grade from NFL.com.

Putting him in the same building as Montez Sweat will only be a good thing for a player that was the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and had eight sacks for Kansas last year.