Bears Finish Building Three-Headed Wide Receiver Monster

Rome Odunze joins Keenan Allen and DJ Moore as dangerous wide receiver group for Bears No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams.

The way Rome Odunze sees it, he's going to a similar situation as the one he just left.

The ninth pick in Round 1 by the Bears comes into an offense with veterans DJ Moore and Keenan Allen as the established players in what could be one of the most explosive groups in the league. At 6-foot-3, 212 pounds, however, he'll still need to be a student for a while as he chases Caleb Williams' passes.

"I'm hoping to learn a lot," Odunze said. "They've been veterans in the league, been doing well for themselves for a long time, so soak up all the information that I can and learn from them and hopefully go out there and make some plays, too.

"I just came from a wide receiver trio that was able to have a lot of success at my college, so I think we can just do the same exact thing, but at the next level."

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At Washington, Odunze had a national high 1,640 receiving yards last year playing in a receiver group with Ja'Lynn Polk, who had 1,159 yards, and also Jalen McMillan with 559 yards.

Odunze already worked with both Bears receivers and Williams in a throwing session earlier this month. He trains with former NFL receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh and was told Williams was throwing at USC. So Odunze made the trip and got an eyeful in the workout.

"I've watched a lot of NFL tape and a lot of NFL wide receivers and I feel like I've developed my skills to be on the same level as those guys," Odunze said. "But definitely, they have a skill set that has been sharpened for many years now and the tools to have success in the NFL for a long time now.

"I wouldn't say it was eye-opening but definitely was looking at the different things that they were doing that were very subtle, very precise, and very detailed that I will need to do to have success at the next level."

Williams, Allen and Moore aren't the only Bears players Odunze already knows.

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Bears slot cornerback Kyler Gordon played at Washington while Odunze was there.

"Yeah, he's wished me luck many times," Odunze said. "When I visited Chicago on my visit, he said 'I hope you enjoy the city, hope you enjoy your time.' And I told him 'Yeah, it was a great visit.'

"I've always commented on his posts, got him looking like Spiderman out there with all those flips and stuff. I always comment on those things because he was doing those things in college. Happy to be joining him, and I know he's a great person as well. Super excited."

Odunze called versatility his great strength. It's a good thing because offensive coordinator Shane Waldron is likely to have all the receivers learning all of the positions.

"I think I do a lot of things well on the field, honestly, from playing outside, playing inside, catching contested balls, creating separation," he said. "I feel like I do all these things at a high level. And I’m looking to come and make that immediate impact, find my role within the team with great receivers like Keenan Allen and DJ Moore already there. Just finding my role within that and creating avenues for the offense to have success."

The positive for the Bears in drafting Odunze is how they'll still have his threat if they lose Keenan Allen after this season when his contract expires.

Coming in with Williams at the same time will let the QB and receiver develop a chemistry.

"Yeah, I think it's awesome to come in with a rookie quarterback because we can grow and develop alongside each other, and we don't have any worries about someone retiring or someone else coming in," Odunze said. "We can develop alongside one another and grow as players and learn the league and how we need to have success within it, and I think that’s super special."

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