You can lose a draft before you make a pick. The Bears did it at the trade table, overpaying to chase players the board did not price nearly as high. It grades a D-, and the process earned it.

If McMahon pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. So much rides on Caleb Williams that the rest of the class almost grades on a curve behind him. For all the activity, running back went untouched, which is hard to explain.

It is not that Williams is a bad player; it is that the Bears had louder needs to answer first. On value alone, Taylor-Demerson makes the weekend a net positive. Spend now, pay later; the math only works if this class delivers.

It is a steep hill from here, and the grade knows it.