The eleven-year veteran wide receiver offered some major praise for the rookie out of Washington Since Roger Goodell stepped to the podium and announced that the Chicago Bears were selecting Caleb Williams with the 1st overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the lion’s share of the attention has rightfully been on the first quarterback with true star potential that will wear a Bears uniform since Sid Luckman — and that was, no joke, close to 100 years ago. However, people seem to be forgetting that the Bears had a second top ten pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and with that selection, they nabbed Washington Huskies wide receiver Rome Odunze… an NFL-ready weapon that joins a suddenly loaded arsenal of weapons that Williams will have
at his disposal the moment he steps onto an NFL field. The Bears won’t practice in full pads until July 27th, but in a short period of time and with few reps, Rome Odunze has already impressed another new addition to the Chicago Bears offense: Keenan Allen, an 11-year NFL veteran, knows a thing or two about good receiver performance. When comparing Allen to his 2013 Draft peers, only DeAndre Hopkins and Travis Kelce had more receptions, touchdowns, and yards. But compare Allen to Odunze, and the veteran would tell you that the rookie is ahead of the game.
“He looks better than me at that age,” Allen told reporters during practice on Sunday.
This is a huge compliment from any seasoned receiver, but coming from a player of Keenan Allen’s caliber means much more. Allen was formerly considered a first-round prospect, but he fell to the third round in the 2013 NFL Draft, owing in large part to a sprained PCL throughout much of his pre-draft preparation. He began camp as the fifth wide receiver on the San Diego Chargers depth chart and struggled from the start. However, due to injuries and strong play, Allen had emerged as Phillip Rivers’ primary weapon by the end of his first year.
Rome Odunze will start the season as the third receiver, behind DJ Moore and Keenan Allen. However, Odunze has made it obvious throughout the process that he is in Chicago to compete and establish himself as Caleb Williams’ top choice. Consider confidence to be another bright point in Keenan Allen’s thinking.
“Confidence is essential; I was the same way,” Allen explained. “I came here to take positions and be the number one receiver. However, in reality, this is not always the case. I’ve been a No. 3 and 4 receiver.The cards may or may not turn out this way, but we’ll need him.
Rome Odunze is turning heads in Chicago
Keenan Allen isn’t the only one in the Bears locker room who has been impressed by the 9th overall pick. Rome Odunze has already found big fans in both head coach Matt Eberflus, and new Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who offered this glowing assessment of Odunze back in May “We knew that he’s big and fast and a smooth receiver with the ability to make tough catches,” Waldron said, according to Larry Mayer of ChicagoBears.com. “But the cool thing I thought was when you start learning about the person and how dependable and reliable he was, that really sealed the deal as far as the evaluation process. And then I thought it was pretty cool post-draft just the amount of texts I received just about the person more than anything else. So when you’re building a culture and building it the right way, it was an A-plus fit for us.”
More recently, Coach Flus noted that it was Rome Odunze who impressed the coaching staff more than anyone else during OTAs, saying, “I would say Rome. Rome really impressed us in terms of his ability to grab concepts and really execute out there.”
The faster Rome Odunze can establish himself as the star that Ryan Poles, Matt Eberflus, and the Chicago Bears envisioned him to be, the sooner Caleb Williams will be able to completely command Chicago’s new look offense. And when that happens, whether this year or next, keep an eye out.
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