The Chicago Bears have the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and it is all but guaranteed that they will be selecting USC quarterback Caleb Williams. The Bears traded 2021 No. 11 pick Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason, which only made it more obvious who they would be taking with the first pick Thursday night.
Williams will become a Bear in less than 10 hours when his NFL career officially begins. Chicago also has the No. 9 selection in the draft, but who it will take with that pick is not as obvious as its plan with Williams.
If it were the future franchise QB in the draft room, looking at the scouting reports and making decisions on who the team would add to its squad, Williams said he would select a former teammate.
When asked who he wants the Bears to select when they are on the clock again, he said, "I'd probably go Olu Fashanu because I know he'd put his life on the line for me, protecting me."
Caleb Williams on who he’d like to see the Bears take at No. 9 ????????
“I’d probably go Olu Fashanu because I know he’d put his life on the line for me ... and then one of the top 3 WRs.”
Caleb and Olu were teammates together in high school
????: Yahoo! Sports/YT pic.twitter.com/Mfd7mV5b5G— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) April 25, 2024
Fashanu, an offensive tackle out of Penn State, and Williams were teammates in high school when they attended Gonzaga College in Washington, D.C. CBS Sports mock drafts have Fashanu going anywhere from No. 6 to No. 14.
As for his other choice, he said, "Then I'd probably go one of the top three wide receivers, whoever is there at nine."
No surprise that Williams would want a player he trusts to block for him and a solid pass catcher to throw to. The top wide receivers include Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers out of LSU and Washington's Rome Odunze.