Bear Digest

Rome Odunze's breakout season proves one thing about the 2024 NFL draft

Even the best NFL draft analysts can get it wrong with the best prospects, and Rome Odunze is proof of that.
Pete Martuneac|
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Chicago Bears

Fans of the Chicago Bears received a massive infusion of hope at the 2024 NFL draft. Armed with two Top 10 selections, general manager Ryan Poles selected one of the most gifted college quarterbacks since Andrew Luck and former Washington receiver Rome Odunze, a prospect who had been compared favorably to the great Larry Fitzgerald.

Unfortunately, both of these tantalizing prospects greatly underwhelmed in their rookie seasons. Making matters worse, Caleb Williams appeared to be the latest in a long line of quarterbacks to be drafted ahead of a far superior player, in this case Jayden Daniels. But careers are not written after just one season, and already Caleb Williams compares far more favorably to Jayden Daniels in his sophomore season.

But what about Rome Odunze? Like Williams, the 2024 NFL draft was loaded with talent at his position, and despite being a highly regarded prospect, two receivers were drafted ahead of him, and both had much better rookie seasons. In the below chart, you can see the gulf between Odunze's rookie numbers and the numbers from Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers (all stats taken from ESPN).

Rome Odunze

Malik Nabers

Marvin Harrison Jr.

54 receptions

109 receptions

62 receptions

734 yards

1,204 yards

885 yards

3 touchdowns

7 touchdowns

8 touchdowns

Much like his quarterback, however, Odunze appears to be thriving under new head coach Ben Johnson and is trending towards a true breakout season. In just four games this season, Odunze has already surpassed his touchdown total from 2024 and very nearly gotten halfway to his total yards as a rookie, too. While this development on its own is good news for Bears fans, it looks even better when compared to Nabers and Harrison, both of whom appear to be regressing in their sophomore seasons.

Rome Odunze

Malik Nabers

Marvin Harrison Jr.

20 receptions

18 receptions

16 receptions

296 yards

271 yards

208 yards

5 touchdowns

2 touchdowns

2 touchdowns

Unfortunately for Nabers, he sustained an ACL injury that will end his 2025 season here. His stats through four games look good but they're slightly misleading, as nearly all of that production came in Week 2 when Nabers posted 167 yards and both of his touchdowns. He racked up just 71 yards in the season opener and a paltry 13 yards in Week 3.

As for Harrison, he has struggled mightily with drops this year and looks nothing like the guaranteed future Hall of Famer that many draft analysts (myself included) believed him to be. To be fair, however, he did come down with a spectacular 4th quarter touchdown against Seattle that hopefully proves to be a turning point.

What does this mean for Odunze? While his rookie season was undoubtedly a disappointment, especially when compared to Nabers and Harrison, he has already shown significant improvement in his game while. As for Nabers and Harrison, both appear to be regressing and Nabers unfortunately won't be back until 2026.

With hindsight, it's pretty clear that Odunze should have been the first wide receiver drafted in 2024, going to the Cardinals with the 4th overall pick. A receiver with his size, speed, route-running ability, and sure-handedness just doesn't come around very often.

Nabers likely stays at WR2, despite his major injury, and Marvin Harrison Jr. should have been the receiver who fell to the Bears at 9th overall. All three players are still young and have long careers ahead of them, but it's already becoming clear who the best of the bunch is. It shouldn't be too much longer before Odunze has rewritten every Chicago Bears receiving record, especially if he's already surpassed DJ Moore as WR1 in Chicago.

Rome Odunz
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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