Bears' Poles: No thought of trading down with Odunze available at No. 9

The Chicago Bears were arguably one of the biggest winners of the 2024 NFL Draft, coming away with potentially their next franchise quarterback in Caleb Williams and a new star receiver in Rome Odunze.

With many teams reportedly looking to trade up into the top 10, some speculated before the draft that Chicago could move down from the ninth overall pick.

But Bears general manager Ryan Poles said Thursday that he didn't consider giving up on drafting Oduze once it was clear he'd be available.

"Rome was at the top of our list," Poles said on "The Pat McAfee Show." "We have our draft board separated by different colors, and there's certain guys you don't pass up on, and Rome is one of them. It's hard to find a guy who's that big and that talented at the receiver spot and, on top of that, being an unbelievable human being as well. So there was no movement off Rome at all."

Adding Odunze to a receiving group that already contained D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen - who was acquired in a March trade - gives Williams one of the league's best pass-catching trios to start his career.

The former Washington star led the FBS in receiving yards last season (1,640) while ranking sixth in both touchdowns and catches.

Did we just become best friends? @CALEBcsw @RomeOdunze pic.twitter.com/TskbpiqYiX

- Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) April 26, 2024

Odunze and Williams have already built a rapport: They worked out together in Los Angeles before the draft and took the same flight to Detroit for the event.

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