National Football League

2024 NFL Re-Draft: Would Bears take Caleb Williams or Jayden Daniels at No. 1?

Updated Jan. 30, 2025 6:13 p.m. ET

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Carmen Vitali

NFL Reporter

David Helman

NFL Reporter

Hindsight is 20/20. Many NFL teams are likely fighting off that sentiment now that their 2024 season has concluded. 

Did they do everything they possibly could have to better their chances this season? Were the additions worth it? Did the players they let go become regrets? More than that, did their process hold up?

Those are just some of the questions teams constantly ask themselves. And they're some of the questions Carmen Vitali and David Helman examined when looking back at the 2024 draft. With that aforementioned benefit, we decided to re-draft the first round. 

Only five picks were replicated.

See below for the changes we made now that we have a clearer picture of how last year's top prospects would fare in the NFL.

1. Chicago Bears: LSU QB Jayden Daniels 
2024 choice: QB Caleb Williams

Carmen Vitali: There was a case to be made for keeping Williams here, and I think it's a strong one. But there's no denying Daniels had the better season. My biggest concern about him coming out of LSU was the hits he took and that when he scrambled, he couldn't keep his eyes downfield. Well, guess what? He can now, and he was incredibly efficient throughout his first season, including through the NFC title game.

2. Washington Commanders: USC QB Caleb Williams 
2024 choice: QB Jayden Daniels

David Helman: This will get me yelled at, but I'm nowhere near ready to give up on Williams. There were ugly moments and some things that need to get cleaned up, but Williams showed plenty that suggests he's still worthy of being one of the first players off the board.

3. New England Patriots: UNC QB Drake Maye
2024 choice: Maye

Vitali: Before the draft, I was firmly in the camp that New England should trade down in hopes of getting a haul to accelerate their roster rebuild. That still might have been a good idea, but there's no doubt that Maye is the future for the Patriots, especially if they get him an offensive line.

4. Arizona Cardinals: LSU WR Malik Nabers 
2024 choice: WR Marvin Harrison

Helman: Harrison didn't have a bad rookie year, but it's impossible to ignore what Nabers accomplished while missing games due to injury and playing with worse quarterbacks. If the Cardinals could do it over again, I bet they'd be swayed by Nabers' playmaking ability.

5. Los Angeles Chargers: Notre Dame OT Joe Alt
2024 choice: Alt

Vitali: This was the best decision at the time, and it's still the best decision now. Alt is a stud. No notes.

6. New York Giants: Oregon QB Bo Nix
2024 choice: WR Malik Nabers

Helman: The Giants have to be one of the biggest winners of a re-draft exercise, because they'd be assured of landing themselves a franchise quarterback. Knowing now what Nix is capable of doing in an NFL offense, Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll would happily pick him to fortify their job security.

7. Tennessee Titans: FSU DE Jared Verse
2024 choice: OT J.C. Latham

Vitali: When you consider the Titans got T'Vondre Sweat in the second round, the defensive line tandem of him and DROY front-runner Verse would have probably turned Tennessee's front into what we all thought it was going to be this season.

8. Atlanta Falcons: Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.
2024 choice: Penix

Helman: Atlanta stands pat with their QB of the future, which might feel risky. Penix started only three games, and there are plenty of star players still on the board. But that's how important the quarterback position is. Penix flashed enough to give the Falcons hope for the future, and that's reason enough to stick with the pick.

9. Chicago Bears: Alabama OT JC Latham
2024 choice: WR Rome Odunze

Vitali: Caleb Williams was the most sacked quarterback in the league this season and was almost the most sacked quarterback in a single season ever. The Bears need to stop getting cute with their offensive line selections yesterday, which is why I gave them the best tackle not named Alt in the draft.

10. New York Jets: Georgia TE Brock Bowers
2024 choice: Traded down to No. 11; selected OT Olumuyiwa Fashanu

Helman: The Jets were responsible last spring by picking an offensive tackle, but that was before they knew Bowers had historic potential. It's impossible to know if Bowers would have salvaged the Aaron Rodgers experiment, but he would've made it more fun to watch.

11. Minnesota Vikings: Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy
2024 choice: Traded up to No. 10; selected McCarthy

Vitali: Listen, I still think Minnesota made the right call here. Darnold was better than anyone expected, playing at MVP levels during parts of the Vikings' 14-win season. But he isn't the long-term solution in Minnesota and I think the Vikings are glad they have McCarthy waiting in the wings to try again in 2025 after his injury.

12. Denver Broncos: LSU WR Brian Thomas Jr.
2024 choice: QB Bo Nix

Helman: Tough pill to swallow for Sean Payton to lose not just Nix, but all of the top young quarterbacks in this loaded class. If you can't upgrade at quarterback, you can at least draft a star receiver who doesn't need good quarterback play to excel.

13. Las Vegas Raiders: Penn State OT Olu Fashanu
2024 choice: TE Brock Bowers

Vitali: I won't lie, the Raiders knocked their pick out of the park in Bowers. But in this redraft, Bowers is no longer available. So what do you do for a team not expected to contend with a plethora of needs? Start in the trenches.

14. New Orleans Saints: Oregon State OT Taliese Fuaga
2024 choice: Fuaga

Helman: It shows how badly the Saints need the offensive line help that their pick stays the same. Fuaga had a decent rookie season, definitely not as good as some of the defensive stars that are still on the board. But this offensive line was in bad enough shape that it still feels like they made the right call.

15. Indianapolis Colts: UCLA DE Laiatu Latu
2024 choice: Latu

Vitali: Latu wasn't a DROY finalist, but he was everything the Colts could have hoped for this year and has quickly become a leader on Indy's defense.

16. Seattle Seahawks: FSU DT Braden Fiske
2024 choice: DT Byron Murphy

Helman: Mike Macdonald was on the right track looking for a disruptive defensive tackle to drop into the middle of his defense, but maybe he'd consider a different one if he could do it again. Fiske finished with almost triple the number of pressures of any other rookie defensive tackle, to go along with 8.5 sacks.

17. Jacksonville Jaguars: Georgia WR Ladd McConkey
2024 choice: Traded down to No. 23; selected WR Brian Thomas Jr.

Vitali: McConkey was as close to a sure thing for Justin Herbert in Los Angeles as he could get. He was no stranger to volume, either. McConkey caught 82 passes for 1,149 yards and seven touchdowns in his rookie season. With both BTJ and Nabers off the board here, McConkey is the third-most productive receiver and would have done well for the Jaguars if Thomas wasn't an option.

18. Cincinnati Bengals: Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell
2024 choice: OT Amarius Mims

Helman: It hurts to not address Joe Burrow's offensive line, but Cincinnati's defense wound up being too bad to ignore. A shutdown corner like Mitchell could have improved multiple aspects of Lou Anarumo's unit, and it might have been enough to help the Bengals reach the playoffs.

19. Los Angeles Rams: Texas A&M LB Edgerrin Cooper
2024 choice: DE Jared Verse

Vitali: Not only is Verse off the board already, but so is Braden Fiske. The college teammates were instrumental in revamping the Rams defense and boosting them back to the top of the NFC West. Los Angeles needed help against the run one way or another and Cooper, with his multiple Rookie of the Week awards, has turned into a do-it-all middle of the field defender that could be great in this defense.

20. Pittsburgh Steelers: Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr.
2024 choice: OT Troy Fautanu

Helman: The Steelers went into the draft hell-bent on addressing their offensive line, but it would have seemed insane to think a talent like Harrison would fall all the way down here. Harrison didn't have the same eye-popping numbers as Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr., but he had a plenty productive rookie year and would have helped upgrade Pittsburgh's passing game. 

21. Miami Dolphins: Duke C Graham Barton
2024 choice: DE Chop Robinson

Vitali: I spent a lot of time last offseason talking about how the Dolphins needed an insurance policy on the money they gave quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. They didn't listen. And it bit them. The Fins not only graded out poorly in pass protection, but their run game took a huge step back this season. Put Barton on the interior there and tell me all of that doesn't improve.

22. Philadelphia Eagles: Iowa DB Cooper DeJean
2024 choice: CB Quinyon Mitchell

Helman: It felt like highway robbery that the Eagles were able to land Mitchell and DeJean with back-to-back picks during the draft, and the 2024 season proved that to be true. The league would never let it happen in a re-draft, but Philly can at least grab one half of the dynamic duo by making DeJean a first-round pick.

23. Minnesota Vikings: Texas DT Byron Murphy
2024 choice: Traded up to No. 17; selected LB Dallas Turner

Vitali: The Vikings just needed some bigger dudes on the defensive interior. Murphy gives them size as well as athleticism, which would be right in defensive coordinator Brian Flores' wheelhouse. You don't need as many exotic blitzes when your tackles can get pressure from the closest positions to the opposing quarterback.

24. Dallas Cowboys: Georgia OT Amarius Mims
2024 choice: Traded down to No. 29; selected OT Tyler Guyton

Helman: The Cowboys had boxed themselves into a corner and desperately needed an offensive tackle ahead of last year's draft. So, it doesn't feel like the priority would change — just the player. They flipped Guyton from right tackle to left this season, so they could do the same with Mims. The 22-year-old flashed plenty of potential during his first season in Cincinnati.

25. Green Bay Packers: Texas DT T'Vondre Sweat
2024 choice: OT Jordan Morgan

Vitali: If this had actually happened, I think a lot of Packer fans would have complained that the team took defensive tackles in the first round two out of three years. But with Sweat's size, and the team switching to a 4-3 defense under coordinator Jeff Hafley, Sweat could have occupied a ton of space on that interior, which maybe would have freed up the ends a bit more and resulted in more pressure on the quarterback.

26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: West Virginia C Zach Frazier
2024 choice: C Graham Barton

Helman: The Bucs would probably pick Barton all over again if they could, but he played his way into a higher draft slot. The next-best course of action might be to stick with another fun player at the same position. Frazier allowed just 12 pressures and one sack in a phenomenal debut season for Pittsburgh.

27. Arizona Cardinals: Penn State DE Chop Robinson
2024 choice: DE Darius Robinson

Vitali: The Cardinals had a host of needs all along the defense, and at this point, Chop Robinson is the best defensive player left on the board. 

28. Buffalo Bills: Texas WR Xavier Worthy
2024 choice: Traded down to No. 33; selected WR Keon Coleman

Helman: The Bills can deny it if they want to — and, to be fair to them, Coleman had a promising rookie season. But if they could do it all over again, having just watched Worthy hit them for 101 scrimmage yards and a touchdown in the AFC Championship Game, they might just make him a Bill instead of trading their pick to Kansas City.

29. Detroit Lions: Georgia CB Kamari Lassiter
2024 choice: Traded up to No. 24; selected CB Terrion Arnold

Vitali: It wasn't a mystery what position the Lions were looking at in the 2024 first round, and it's even less of a mystery and maybe more of a need now. Lassiter had the third-best coverage grade of any rookie taken, which is why I have the Lions swapping out Arnold for him.

30. Baltimore Ravens: Maryland CB Tarheeb Still
2024 choice: CB Nate Wiggins

Helman: A Day 3 pick soars up the board to land as the third corner off the board. Wiggins didn't have a bad rookie season in Baltimore, but Still finished tied for the league lead among rookies with four interceptions, and PFF graded him out with a top 10 coverage mark in this draft class.

31. San Francisco 49ers: Washington WR Rome Odunze
2024 choice: WR Ricky Pearsall

Vitali: Odunze came in clutch more than a few times for the Chicago Bears and rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. But he was already WR3 in Chicago. If he's going to join an All-Star cast, let it be the Niners who could have maximized his skill set a bit more. 

32. Kansas City Chiefs: OT Roger Rosengarten
2024 choice: Traded up to No. 28; selected WR Xavier Worthy

Helman: It's tempting to try to find the Chiefs a big-play replacement for Worthy, but that's easier said than done. Instead, maybe the right move is to address their left tackle issue. Rosengarten primarily plays right tackle, but he could make the switch. He gave up 23 pressures and 3 sacks during his first nine games in Baltimore, but those numbers dropped to 13 pressures and 1 sack during his second nine games. There'd be an adjustment period, but Rosengarten could make the Chiefs' offensive line even scarier than it already is.

Carmen Vitali is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. Carmen had previous stops with The Draft Network and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She spent six seasons with the Bucs, including 2020, which added the title of Super Bowl Champion (and boat-parade participant) to her résumé. You can follow Carmen on Twitter at @CarmieV. 

David Helman covers the NFL for FOX Sports and hosts the NFL on FOX podcast. He previously spent nine seasons covering the Cowboys for the team's official website. In 2018, he won a regional Emmy for his role in producing "Dak Prescott: A Family Reunion" about the quarterback's time at Mississippi State. Follow him on Twitter at @davidhelman_.

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