Chicago

Bears

Randolph (6'4/296) is a deliberate mover who is solely focused on his single gap assignment, resulting in 144 tackles over the last three years. He lined up as the 4i away from the back for Illinois, holding down a spot across from Jer’Zhan Newton. The two-time All-Big Ten honoree does not have the burst to be a disruptive penetrator. Rather, his go-to approach is to work a blocker with technique and maintain gap integrity. Randolph is only an average athlete with average size, scoring below the 60th percentile in all of the standard Combine events for a middling 4.83 RAS. Without a true winner of a trait, he will have to demonstrate versatility and leadership to stick on the roster of whichever team drafts him. While the motor runs hot, Randolph’s closing ability leaves much to be desired. This likely resulted from the rapid physical development he experienced since high school, gaining almost 80 pounds. This development does show up in his anchor, however, as he maintains good play leverage and rarely gives up his body leverage. Randolph projects best as a rotational early-down run stopper from the three tech in an even front. Perhaps losing weight will allow him to better fit as a five tech in an odd front.

Reed (6'1"/220 pounds) threw for a whopping 71 touchdowns and ran for a dozen more in the same Western Kentucky offense that produced Patriots QB Bailey Zappe. Reed racked up nearly 16,000 passing yards over 51 collegiate games in the pass-first Hilltoppers offense. He’ll compete this summer to make the Bears roster and possibly serve as Caleb Williams’ backup.

A long, lean player with 33.875” length arms, Booker interestingly weighed 240 pounds at the Combine, running a sluggish 4.79s 40-yard dash. At his pro day a month later, Booker weighed 253 pounds and ran a 4.77s 40 which would still be the second-lowest mark from the 2024 Combine edge class. Throw in his 7.28s 3-Cone (64th%) and 10’0” broad (85th%), and Booker’s testing profile adds up to a respectable 7.02 relative athletic score. Booker dips into a wide reservoir of different pass rush techniques designed to test the deficiencies of opposing tackles. While he relishes initiating contact, Booker would rather utilize his superior agility, bend, and savvy to outmaneuver and outthink larger blockers. He lacks upper body mass to be a dominant edge setter, but he’s smart when picking rush lanes to fill and uses his length to stave off opponents and disengage to make plays on the ball carrier. Booker is raw with just one year of collegiate experience under his belt, and lacking in upper body density required to take on blockers at the next level.

An Australian native with an Aussie Rules background, Taylor (6’4/223) was destined for the NFL from the moment he took the field at Iowa. He earned Big Ten Conference Punter of the Year as a freshman while averaging 44.1 yards per punt and pinning his opponents inside the 20 on nearly half of his attempts. His average topped 45 yards on 162 punts over the next two seasons. In his final campaign, Iowa’s offense redoubled their effort to get Taylor drafted, granting him 93 punts that he converted into 4,479 yards, the current NCAA record for punt yards in a season. Taylor has good size for a punter and it shows in his booming kicks. He is the crown jewel of this punter class.

Kiran Amegadjie (6'5/323) was a 2-star Offensive Tackle from Hinsdale, Illinois in the 2020 recruiting class, according to 247Sports. After spending three years as a starter at Yale, dominating the inferior competition of the Ivy League, Amegadjie is now ready for the challenge of professional football. The three-time All-Conference honoree spent two years at Left Tackle after spending 2021 at Right Guard. Amegadjie dominated smaller and weaker defenders, throwing them around and showing off better movement skills than much smaller opponents. He possesses objectively good size and length, with a wingspan of over 85”. His basketball background lends itself to Amegadjie’s plus footwork and comfort in a low defensive stance. In the run game, he has shown a propensity to drive would-be tacklers into their bench. That being said, questions remain on whether Amegadjie’s physical play can translate to an arena with faster, stronger, and more refined players. There are also concerns about his health, as he missed the back half of the 2023 season, as well as Senior Bowl practices due to a quad injury. Amegadjie fits well into the archetype of a long-term project left tackle who may only gain the necessary experience by being thrown into action earlier in his career.

Although the Bears were supposedly “very open for business” with their second first-rounder, they decided to stay put and continue to build out what is looking like an extremely impressive supporting cast for No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams. A deep dominator who turned into a prolific touchdown scorer for 2023 national title game participant Washington, Odunze (6’3/212) would have a claim to top-dog status in some receiver classes. Since Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers exist, he had to settle for “consensus No. 3” in this year’s group. Simply the most prolific deep wideout in the country, Odunze has vise-grip hands despite the sometimes volatile nature of that down-field role. Elite in contested-catch situations, Odunze also consistently adds extra yards after the catch. Odunze might have even better ball skills than Harrison. It’s Odunze’s hands and positioning that make him more — much more — than just a deep threat. He has the finer points of receiving down cold. That, combined with a size/speed game that is growing rare at the NFL level give Odunze “No. 1 overall receiver for the class” upside despite his stiff competition.

The consensus No. 1 overall pick for the better part of two years and arguably the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck, Williams (6’1/214) enters the NFL coming off a “down” season where the Trojans’ line and supporting cast woes “limited” him to 3,633 yards and 30 scores in 12 games after those numbers were 4,537 and 42, respectively, in 2022. Despite his protection problems, Williams continued to look down-field when flushed from the pocket and remained lethal off-platform. Although by no means an elite runner, Williams can do damage with his legs — he rushed for 21 scores over the past two seasons — and is difficult to take down due to a thick build a la Kyler Murray or arguably even Jalen Hurts. Despite a 2023 environment and setup that created nits to be picked, Williams was never in any danger of falling beyond the No. 1 spot. A genuine franchise-changing type talent for a long-beleaguered Bears quarterback room, Williams is one of the most important players to enter the NFL this decade. He will threaten for QB1 status right off the bat.

Locked into Caleb Williams at No. 1 overall with Carolina’s pick, the Bears are evidently more ambivalent about their own selection at No. 9. Of course, it is bigger news when a team isn’t “very open for business,” but the Bears could be of the mind to trade down, accumulate picks, and surround Williams with as much talent as possible during his rookie contract.

Taylor returns to the 49ers for the first time since 2020. The past three seasons he spent time as a reserve for the Bears and Bengals. The 29-year old receiver had his best season in 2017 as a rookie (43-430-2) with the 49ers who originally drafted him. He’ll now look to stick in San Fransisco once again.

Whitehair was the Bears’ second-round pick in 2016 and has been with them for the last eight seasons. He’s started 118 of the 124 games he’s appeared in for his career and was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2018. With experience at both guard and center, Whitehair provides the Raiders with a bit of versatility along the interior. He earned a PFF grade of 45.0 last season — the lowest mark of his career.