Bear Digest

Do the Chicago Bears have a Rome Odunze problem?

Rome Odunze was drafted to be a franchise cornerstone. After two seasons and a winning Bears campaign, it’s fair to ask whether his production matches expectations
Bryan Perez|
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Chicago Bears

Ask most Chicago Bears fans about the 2025 season, and the mood is overwhelmingly positive. The Bears finished with an 11-6 record, were NFC North champions, and came oh-so-close to beating the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round.

Caleb Williams looks like a superstar, and Ben Johnson is already this franchise's best head coach since Mike Ditka.

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Still, that doesn't mean there aren't some concerning and lingering issues now that the 2025 season is a wrap. Among them is the development of 2024 first-round pick Rome Odunze, whose second year in the league can fairly be labeled as a disappointment.

"[This] wasn't the season I wanted to have," Odunze said from Halas Hall on Monday. "When the season comes to an end, a lot of those emotions kind of come flushing through ... it really hurts just to not coming through in some of those moments throughout the whole season. It's not just last night. It's, you know, several different plays. Not to say that I didn't help the team. I'm not going to sit here and say, you know, 'I drove us down. I'm the reason.' It's not the attitude that I have, but when I'm not making the plays that I feel like I can make and being the player that I feel like that I am in this league, it's disappointing."

Odunze's words cut both ways. On one hand, they confirm what Bears fans already feel: he hasn't delivered the consistent, game-altering impact typically expected from a wide receiver added with a premium draft pick.

On the other hand, it reveals Odunze's desire to be great. He understands he's fallen short, and it's that self-awareness that is a big first step toward improvement.

It's way too soon to call Rome Odunze a bust. He, like Caleb Williams, was in the first year of a new system, which hinders a young player's learning curve. He also had a stress fracture in his foot that kept him out of action for five games.

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It was a tough year all around for Odunze, who finished 2025 with just 44 catches for 661 yards and six touchdowns. Despite beginning the season with five touchdowns in the first four games, Odunze's sophomore year was definitely a regression.

The biggest concern with Rome Odunze in 2025 was the drops. For a prospect that was deemed a contested-catch superhero, Odunze has been anything but that in the pros.

Those dropsies reared their head in the Divisional Round loss to the Rams, in what can reasonably be called a season-ending blunder.

Indeed, the Chicago Bears' passing game was a work in progress throughout the 2025 season. Williams began the year peppering Odunze with the majority of the targets, before shifting to Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland.

Loveland led the Bears in receiving with 713 yards, but the balance at the top of the pass-catching pecking order was remarkable. DJ Moore had 682 yards, followed by Odunze's 661. Burden ended his rookie year with 652 yards.

Odunze probably would've eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards had he stayed healthy. And, had he been on the field for all 17 games, may have ended his second year as the alpha in the wide receiver room.

So, it's not like Odunze was absent in 2025. He contributed. But he hasn't dominated. Not on third downs, in the red zone, and not with late-game opportunities.

The real truth might simply be this: the Bears don't have a Rome Odunze problem as much as a patience problem. Busts are pretty easy to spot. Odunze has flashed enough playmaking ability to still feel good about his upside. It just may take a bit longer than any of us expected.

As the Bears turn the page on 2025 and focus on the 2026 offseason, Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles will identify the foundational pieces for this new era in Chicago. Odunze remains very much in that conversation, even if this season was a step back for him.

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Bryan Perez
BRYAN PEREZ

Bryan Perez founded and operated Bears Talk, a Chicago sports blog. Prior to that, he covered the Bears for USA Today’s Bears Wire and NBC Sports Chicago. In addition to his Chicago Bears coverage, Perez is a respected member of NFL Draft media and was a past winner of The Huddle's Mock Draft competition. Bryan's past life includes time as a Northeast scout for the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks.

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