It’s never too early to look ahead to the 2024 NFL Draft, especially if you are a fan of the Chicago Bears, who currently hold the No. 1 pick.
On Thursday, NFL Media reported the Bears were expected to interview Kliff Kingsbury for the team’s vacant offensive coordinator position.
The news immediately caused the No. 1 pick odds to shift drastically due to Kingsbury’s affiliation with the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the draft, Caleb Williams.
Williams is now a -1200 favorite to go first overall at FanDuel Sportsbook. Williams’ odds to go No. 1 sat at -500 before the Kingsbury interview news.
While Williams recently declared for the draft, he has been considered the favorite to be the first overall pick for over a year.
Everyone knows the Bears are desperately looking for their quarterback of the future. The team has big decisions coming up, figuring out what to do with both their pick and current signal caller, Justin Fields.
Kingsbury spent the past season as the senior offensive analyst for the USC Trojans, specifically working with Williams. If the Bears hire Kingsbury as their offensive coordinator, all signs would point to them drafting Williams as their future quarterback.
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Going down the No. 1 pick betting board a little further, North Carolina QB Drake Maye is second at +600, and the third-best odds belong to Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (+1600).
Following them are LSU’s Jayden Daniels (+4000), Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. (+10000), Oregon’s Bo Nix (+10000) and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy (+10000).
In other words, there will be a lot of signal-callers to choose from toward the top of the draft.
Is it worth betting on Williams to go No. 1 at this price?
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FOX Sports’ Chris “The Bear” Fallica and Geoff Schwartz discussed this very subject on the latest episode of “Bear Bets.”
“I think there’s a point where the number comes crashing down because of the combine or stuff gets leaked out,” Schwartz said. “This number is not going to stay at -1200. There’s going to be a period where everyone convinces themselves that Drake Maye is that guy. Maybe it’s a great Pro Day or a great combine, or he interviews well, and someone leaks out the Bears are thinking about taking Drake Maye/ trading up for him.”
It’s also worth mentioning that Chicago has the ninth overall pick and could trade either or both picks if they decide to stick with Fields. Regardless of their decision, all eyes will be on the Bears in the coming months.
As they say on draft day, Chicago is now on the clock.
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