Bears approach a historic night in franchise history, starting with Caleb Williams

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Bears approach a historic night in franchise history, starting with Caleb Williams

Draft picks are opportunities, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles likes to say.

And the opportunity has never been greater.

“April 25th, very important (day) for the future of the Bears,” chairman George McCaskey said last month.

The Bears have only four picks this weekend, yet it could turn out to be among the greatest drafts in franchise history.

For the first time in 77 years, the Bears have the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, and they’ll select quarterback Caleb Williams, a superstar in high school and then at Oklahoma and USC. Based on Williams’ awards and evaluations, he’ll be the most decorated and highly touted rookie to ever hear his name called as a Bear, maybe matched only by Dick Butkus and Johnny Lujack.

Williams will be the first Bears draft pick who won the Heisman Trophy since Rashaan Salaam. Of the four previous Heisman winners to be drafted by Chicago, only Lujack had a successful pro career. He’s also the only other Heisman-winning quarterback to be drafted by the Bears.

No one has come to Halas Hall as the consensus top-rated prospect in a draft. No rookie has come to Halas Hall with the fame of Williams — ironically, Justin Fields is probably a close second.

Williams alone creates the buzz felt at the Piccolo Award ceremony and the team’s unveiling of its stadium plans, but April 25 could be significant because of what comes next as the Bears are scheduled to pick again at No. 9.

It would be one thing to come away from Thursday night with Williams, the best player and quarterback in the draft, someone expected to set records as a Bear. The second first-round pick is what provides the extra excitement.

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Maybe this won’t be like 1965 when they drafted Butkus and Gale Sayers. Maybe it won’t be 1983, the draft that included Jimbo Covert, Richard Dent, Willie Gault, Tom Thayer, Dave Duerson, Mike Richardson and Mark Bortz.

The last time the Bears had two first-round picks was 2003, but that’s a draft rated among the team’s best for the guys taken on Day 2 — Lance Briggs and Charles Tillman. Three years earlier, the Bears came away with quite the defensive duo in Brian Urlacher and Mike Brown.

In 2020, when the Bears’ website ranked the top 10 greatest drafts in team history, only one included a quarterback — 1939, when they selected Sid Luckman. Of those 10 drafts, only two occurred in the last 40 years.

Thursday could set a new standard. The two top-10 picks might be enough to make the 2024 draft a fabled one.

After Williams, the Bears get the privilege of possibly taking the best defensive player in the draft, perhaps an edge rusher to complement Montez Sweat (Dallas Turner? Laiatu Latu? Jared Verse?) or the three-technique tackle (Byron Murphy?) to best spark Matt Eberflus’ scheme.

They can select a starting wide receiver to pair with Williams for the next decade (Rome Odunze? Marvin Harrison Jr.? Malik Nabers?) or draft an offensive lineman to protect Williams for the next decade (Joe Alt? Olu Fashanu? JC Latham? Taliese Fuaga? Troy Fautanu?).

Who knows, maybe the Bears select one of the most gifted tight ends in recent memory (Brock Bowers?) to give Williams a unique weapon.

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Heck, they could even trade down 10 spots, get a second-round pick in return and still find a starting wide receiver, edge rusher or offensive lineman.

Even the Bears can’t mess this up. Then again, if any team can, based on their history, it’d be the Bears.

This is the type of draft that can define the Bears and start them in a new direction. Most of the other high draft picks they’ve had — those opportunities — haven’t panned out.

The last time the Bears picked in the top three, it was Mitch Trubisky. Other top-10 picks in the past 26 years include Kevin White, Cedric Benson, David Terrell and Curtis Enis.

It’s been a decade since a first-round pick eventually earned a contract extension from the Bears (Kyle Fuller) and 24 years since a top-10 pick went on to get a second contract (Urlacher).

Draft picks are an opportunity. It took a savvy trade from Poles and some Panthers misfortune to get in this position, but there are no guarantees.

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In the past, the Bears have squandered these opportunities. Bad teams in the fall and winter have created excitement for April, only for the team to botch the opportunity. It’s been as simple as taking the wrong quarterback or improperly surrounding a quarterback or the wide receiver who never stayed healthy. They have given fans reason to be skeptical and cynical, and at best, only cautiously optimistic.

This time, they’re drafting two top-10 players onto a team that won seven games last season, that has a couple of Pro Bowl players and a few more who are worthy.

Draft picks are opportunities, and right now, the Bears are positioned to bring in a player in Williams with extraordinary potential, along with a top-five non-quarterback prospect, the type of player who, in any other draft, we would hail as a blue-chipper to be part of the Bears’ foundation for years to come. He can still be that guy, but this time he’ll be No. 2.

Drafts are about hope, and the Bears have rarely, if ever, been able to offer more hope than they will Thursday night.

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(Photo: Carlos Osorio / Associated Press)