When an NFL team selects a player with a Top 10 pick in the draft, they expect to get an immediate game-changer. Someone who can dominate at their position for the next decade or more. That's what the Chicago Bears hoped they were getting when they selected wide receiver Rome Odunze with the No. 9 pick in the 2024 NFL draft, but through two and a half seasons, he's fallen well short of the mark.

It can hardly surprise Bears fans when, in a redo of the 2024 NFL first-round draft, Gilberto Manzano of Sports Illustrated has the Bears passing on Odunze. "Top-10 picks should be for future No. 1 wideouts," Manzano writes. "At the moment, it doesn’t seem as if Odunze will become that for the Bears after being leapfrogged on the pecking order by second-year wideout Luther Burden III."

This is a fair assessment of Odunze's standing with the team, and it echoes what I said in the offseason when I predicted that Burden, not Odunze, would be the Bears' WR1 in 2026. Where Manzano and I differ, however, is the proposed solution in a re-draft. Manzano has the Bears selecting cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, who originally went to the Philadelphia Eagles with the No. 22 pick.

Quinyon Mitchell would not be the savior of the Bears' secondary

Justifying this new pick, Manzano writes, "Top-10 picks are also meant for weekly shutdown perimeter corners. Mitchell has been just that for the Eagles." I don't disagree with that. Mitchell has been very good for the Eagles, and so far through 2026 he's earned a solid 83.9 impact grade from Pro Football Network.

However, Mitchell has benefitted tremendously from playing on a dominant defense led by one of the greatest defensive minds in recent NFL history, Vic Fangio. His defensive line is a juggernaut, and he plays alongside other solid defensive backs like Cooper DeJean and Riq Woolen. Until the Bears' blockbuster trade for Jeffery Simmons, their defense was several tiers below Philly's, and I think it's fair to wonder whether Mitchell would have been as successful in Chicago.

Chicago's 2026 outlook may have been entirely different without Rome Odunze

As disappointing as Odunze has been as a Top 10 pick, one must consider the opportunity cost of passing on him in a 2024 re-draft. If the Bears didn't have Odunze, they almost certainly would not have traded DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills this year. And had they kept Moore, they would not have had sufficient cap space to trade for Simmons.

What this team would look like at this point in the season with Moore instead of Odunze and no Simmons on the defensive line is up to your imagination, but I don't think it looks nearly as good as it did on Monday night. Super Bowl contention would probably still be considered a bridge too far, yet some analysts consider the Bears to be Super Bowl favorites after their statement primetime victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

And, in fairness to Odunze, he's showed up in a big way for the Bears in each of their last two games. Minus a brutal drop in the endzone in Week 7, one that would have been negated by his offensive pass interference penalty anyway, he's made some mind-blowing catches and critical third-down receptions to keep drives alive.

The Bottom Line

An argument could be made that Odunze was the right pick for the Bears, even with the benefit of hindsight. If I were forced to select another player who was still available on draft night, it would be tight end Brock Bowers, but Bowers went sixth-overall in Manzano's re-draft and was arguably the last slam-dunk prospect available.

Looking at who was still on the board for the Bears in Manzano's re-draft, I would probably go with outside linebacker Dallas Turner or defensive end Jared Verse. Turner is in the midst of a breakout season and is currently the No. 5 EDGE rusher in Pro Football Network's impact rankings, while Verse's career was off to a great start before he was traded to Cleveland.

I would also consider left tackle Tyler Guyton, who went to Dallas with the No. 29 pick and has been a solid member of their offensive line, or even cornerback Kamari Lassiter. He's been up and down in Houston's secondary, but he at least has seven interceptions to his name; Mitchell has just one.