The Chicago Bears made Rome Odunze the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and the third wide receiver off the board of the class. Heading into his second season, Odunze is poised for a bigger role in a presumably better system. He also has one former scout’s attention.
Former NFL player and scout Bucky Brooks named Odunze as one of 11 offensive players on his “All-Breakout Team.
Odunze had 54 receptions for 734 yards and 3 touchdowns with the Bears as a rookie.
Bears WR Rome Odunze Lands on Former Scout’s ‘All-Breakout Team’
Rome Odunze Poised for Big Years 2 With Bears
The biggest change for Odunze is the absence of competition for the No. 2 wideout role behind DJ Moore. Keenan Allen is still a free agent after spending 2024 with the Bears. Moreover, the Bears’ improvements around Oduzne figure to create more, better-quality opportunities.
“Ben Johnson’s arrival and Caleb Williams’ expected development should result in increased production for the Bears’ WR2 in 2025,” Brooks wrote on July 18. “As a big-bodied playmaker with sticky hands and rugged running skills, Odunze can excel as a possession receiver in a ball-control offense that frequently targets the middle of the field. With Williams instructed to play on time, the QB should find the second-year receiver early and often, with opponents forced to defend a multi-faceted attack that efficiently mixes run and pass plays with a creative approach.”
Listed on the Bears’ website at 6-foot-3 and 214 pounds, Odunze said he got stronger this offseason to deal with the physicality from opposing defenders better.
That should help him build on his more encouraging metrics.
“His rookie year offers optimism given his 72.2% contested catch rate (97th percentile) and 4.8 yards after the catch per reception (67th percentile),” Pro Football Focus’ Bradley Locker wrote in June. “With a more stable infrastructure, better quarterback play and play-caller who knows how to get his top weapons the ball, Odunze should look more like the superstar we saw at Washington.”
Rome Odunze Can Emulate Lions’ Jameson Williams
Odunze compares favorably to Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams. Williams was the No. 12 pick in the 2022 draft. He logged his first 1,000-yard season in 2024 with Johnson dialing up the NFL’s top-ranked scoring offense and No. 2 unit overall.
Williams is faster than Odunze, particularly on go routes and the like. But Odunze is a bigger, more physical target, as his contested catch rate suggests.
Odunze and Caleb Williams also struggled to connect early.
They found their rhythm, somewhat, as the season wore on. Allen’s presence (70-744-7 on 121 targets) in the offense picked up, too. Odunze finished the year with four or more receptions in seven of 17 games.
In comparison, Jameson Williams had four-plus catches in nine of his 15 games played with the Lions in 2024.
It is easy to see how the Bears’ pass-catchers are analogs for what Johnson had with the Lions.
Odunze is the Bears’ version of Williams. Moore can replicate what Amon-Ra St. Brown does, if not add to it. It gets less clear beyond that. Rookie first-round pick and tight end Colston Loveland has drawn comparisons to Lions tight end Sam LaPorta. However, he might operate more like Tim Patrick in 2025.
Patrick is a big-bodied wideout, and his role was primarily out wide. The Bears could experiment with the 6-foot-6 Loveland at WR, too, though. More importantly, though, Patrick also slipped into a slot role at times.
That is where Loveland could line up with Cole Kmet in line like LaPorta.
Rookie second-round wideout Luther Burden III is a wild card in the equation. Still, Odunze’s ability to take the top off the defense (a la Williams) and Williams’ ability to find him more frequently with better-quality looks will go a long way toward determining how successful the Bears will be in 2025.