LAKE FOREST — The Chicago Bears selected Yale offensive lineman Kiran Amegadjie with the 75th overall pick in the third round on Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft.
“I can’t even put it into words,” Amegadjie said. “I really have no words. I grew up a Bears fan watching Devin Hester and playing Madden 08-09, running around with Devin Hester in kickoff mode. This is everything I’ve wanted since I was a little kid. I can’t even put into words. It’s amazing.”
Amegadjie grew up in Lake Zurich and went to Hinsdale Central High School. Now, the once Bears fan is a member of the Chicago Bears organization and can become a building block for this new wave of players.
Like most Bears fans, Amegadjie was a fan of the Bears picks on Day 1 of the NFL Draft.
“How could I not be happy?,” Amegadjie said. “I’m just so psyched. Caleb actually just texted me a little bit ago. I’m excited to get to work to those guys.”
Amegajdie played and started 24 total games at Yale. The 6-foot-5, 323-pound offensive lineman started 10 games at right guard in 2021 and then finished his career with 14 starts at left tackle. Although Amegajdie did play some games at right guard, he does see himself as a tackle.
The Yale product was ranked as the 85th prospect on the “Bears 100,” and here was the write up for him.
“Amegadjie is an athlete at the left tackle position. He uses his 36-inch arms to his advantage, and once he gets his hands on opposing defensive linemen, it was essentially over for a lot of the competition he faced. He has quick feet and can mirror well. As a run blocker, Amegadjie keeps his legs moving while maintaining a secure grip on defensive linemen to displace them. Really need to see how he would handle better competition. He only played four games in 2023 due to a left quad injury.”
Co-Director of Player Personnel Trey Koziol shared what he saw in Amegadjie as a prospect.
“As a player, he’s a special talent,” Koziol said. “He’s got really rare physical traits. I think he’s a player that’s on the ascent. Obviously the season got cut a little bit short this fall, but we’re thrilled to have him. His combination of length and athleticism and size, and obviously he’s a sharp kid coming out of the Ivy Leagues and all that, but I got a chance to spend about a half hour with him when I went up on my visit there in the fall. Just a really, really impressive kid. As good a player he is, he’s even more impressive as a human being, which I think you guys will get a chance to see.”
A partially torn left quad prevented Amegadjie from participating in the 2024 Reeces Senior Bowl, but he still went to Mobile, which allowed him to be around all 32 NFL teams.
As a player who did compete against FCS competition, there will be a significant jump to the players he will see at the NFL level. Amegadjie, though, is someone who knows he can improve and is confident in himself to make the necessary adjustments.
“I think I’m a very confident person,” Amegadjie said. “I’m a great player, but I’m not a finished product and I’ll never be ashamed of that. Every day is a work ethic thing. It’s about getting better, and my ceiling is extremely high. I believe I have the highest ceiling in this entire draft class of any player. So for me it’s about what I can do every single day to achieve that. Me and coach Morgan talked about that in our meeting and that’s exactly what I plan on attacking from Day 1.”
