NFL Draft Prospects Bears Must Target After 2024 Shrine, Senior Bowls

The Chicago Bears must have their eyes on all talents in the 2024 NFL draft class.

At the moment, the Bears have not made a decision whether to keep the No. 1 overall pick or trade it and retain Justin Fields at quarterback.

If they keep the top pick, the Bears must use their five other draft selections to build out a more well-rounded roster.

A trade for the No. 1 selection would likely come with a handful of draft picks that could be used to further bolster the roster.

The Bears tracked players at the East-West Shrine Game and Senior Bowl in case of either situation that way they are best prepared for when April rolls around.

Anthony Gould stood out at the East-West Shrine Game with an 80-yard punt return touchdown.

The dynamism of the Oregon State product could be a nice addition to the Bears offense.

Chicago has two reliable pass-catchers in D.J. Moore and Cole Kmet, but it could use a wide receiver with a ton of speed who can be used as a deep threat.

The speedster is likely a Day 3 selection in April, but he could still help a team right away.

Chicago currently holds three picks in the fourth and fifth rounds, one of which could be used on Gould.

He could be a depth target even if the Bears take a wide receiver in the first round, or land a top-tier free agent.

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah called Penn State tight end Theo Johnson “the best player at the position” during Senior Bowl week.

The Bears are not actively searching for tight ends with Kmet in the fold, but they could select a player to take over Robert Tonyan’s spot on the depth chart.

Tonyan was ineffective in his first season in Chicago. The Bears may want to get younger at tight end to add another player who can grow with either Fields or the new quarterback.

Johnson caught seven touchdowns in his final season at Penn State. He hauled in 11 scores in his last two campaigns.

He was not a high-volume player in the yardage category, but he made up for that with his red-zone prowess.

The Bears could use another big body in the red zone, and they could find that with Johnson on Day 3.

The Bears do not have to directly look for best positional fit on Day 3.

They could look at the best players available in the fourth and fifth rounds.

Memphis running back Blake Watson fits the latter category. The dual-threat player could add some explosiveness to the Bears offense.

Chicago may be most interested in his pass-catching abilities since Roschon Johnson should be the starting running back in 2024.

Watson caught 53 passes for 480 yards at Memphis last season. He also had 60 receptions over three seasons at Old Dominion.

The Bears could use Watson as a third-down and red-zone pass-catcher to complement Johnson and Khalil Herbert.