Evaluating Bears 2024 rookie class: Hits, misses and future stars

Fans of the Chicago Bears are often accused of living in the past. Given the lack of recent success from their favorite team and the way that the '85 Bears and players like Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers are still revered, it's a fair criticism. Now that Ben Johnson has been hired to be Chicago's new head coach, though, that's all about to change.

Bears fans are once again excited for the future, and who can blame them? Johnson is one of the most innovative offensive minds in the game, and if he can bring even a fraction of the success he had in Detroit to the Windy City, then Bears fans are in for some fun times ahead.

The NFL has structured its offseason in such a meticulously intelligent way that fans of every NFL team always have something to look forward to. The combine will begin in late February, followed by the start of free agency in March. The draft takes over the news cycle in April and then comes the schedule release, mini camps, and finally, preseason.

Needless to say, there's plenty to look ahead to, but before the season ends with next week's Super Bowl, let's look back one last time for some final impressions on the Bears 2024 rookie class.

The Bears had the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft and ended up selecting five players. By and large, the rookies were one of the major bright spots of the season, but let's look at them individually to sort them into three groups — future stars, hits and misses. Actually, it's too early to call any of these rookies misses at this point in time, so let's change misses to "wait and sees."

Bears 2024 rookie future stars: Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze

The Bears had two top-10 picks in the draft, and it sure looks like they nailed both of them. Let's look at them individually.

Caleb Williams was overshadowed by the electric season that Jayden Daniels put together in Washington, but anyone with eyes can see that he's a special talent who's going to be a star for years to come.

Williams threw for a Bears rookie record 3,541 yards and 20 touchdowns, but most impressive among his achievements were two things he didn't do. He didn't turn the ball over, throwing only six interceptions all season despite starting every game. And he didn't get hurt, even though he was sacked a league-high 68 times.

Williams showed off a cannon for an arm and an ability to get himself out of trouble, though he was the first one to admit that he also took more sacks than he needed to because of his unwillingness to give up on a play. That's something that can be improved upon, but this is something you just can't teach:

Even as the Bears fired head coach Matt Eberflus and saw their season spiral away, Williams said and did all the right things. He never complained, never pouted, and kept fighting until the end of the season, even though his multiple potential game-winning drives were repeatedly thwarted by awful coaching decisions. He defended his offensive line when it was a major focus of outside criticism.

Pairing Williams with Ben Johnson is going to be a moment that Bears fans look back on as the moment the franchise finally turned around.

As for Odunze, he too was overshadowed by his fellow rookies around the league. Malik Nabers, Ladd McConkey and Brian Thomas Jr. all put up much more impressive stat lines, but none of them had to deal with veterans above them on the depth chart the way Odunze did with DJ Moore and Keenan Allen.

Odunze still ended up with 54 catches, 734 yards and three touchdowns, which isn't too shabby for a rookie. What Bears fans should really be excited about though is the chemistry he showed with his quarterback. Williams was overjoyed when Odunze was drafted right behind him, and throughout the season he kept looking Odunze's way in critical situations. If Keenan Allen isn't brought back in free agency, Odunze is going to step into a bigger role, and with his size, speed and hands, he's going to be a monster.

Bears 2024 rookie hits: Tory Taylor

Honestly, I would love to put Tory Taylor in the future stars category, but nobody else could really fit the bill as a hit. Few punters if any ever achieve star status, but that's what Taylor was as the main attraction when he was at Iowa, and he showed why as a rookie.

As the Bears offense struggled to find its footing for much of the season, punting became a much bigger priority than Caleb Williams imagined it would when he texted Taylor on the night of the draft, "You're not going to be punting much." Taylor did punt a lot (the second-most times in the league), but he did it well, finishing in the top half of the league in average and top-five in punts inside the 20.

Taylor finished the year with a 3.6 higher yards per punt average than Trenton Gill put up for the Bears in 2023, making him a clear upgrade even as a rookie. Punters aren't thought of as foundational players, but as the Bears prepare to look very different in 2025, they can rest assured that they have at least one position locked up for the foreseeable future.

Bears 2024 rookie wait and sees: Austin Booker and Kiran Amegadjie

The jury is still out on Austin Booker and Kiran Amegadjie after neither did much in their first season. Booker looked like a potential breakout star in the preseason as he tallied 2.5 sacks and nine pressures in less than 100 snaps, but he played less than 17 snaps per game in the regular season, finishing with 1.5 sacks, 10 pressures and 21 tackles. He should get more of an opportunity to make an impact in Year 2, as new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's aggressive approach should lead to him putting the team's best pass rushers on the field more often.

Amegadjie was lambasted for his lackluster performance in a fill-in start for an injured Braxton Jones in a Monday Night Football loss at Minnesota, but judging him prematurely based on one result would be foolish. The Bears knew he would be a project when they drafted him, and his development was slowed by needing to recover from an injury that kept him out from last October until late in training camp. With a full offseason to train and take part in minicamp, don't be surprised if he makes a significant jump in his sophomore season.