New York Giants Draft Prospect: WR Rome Odunze

Washington receiver Rome Odunze should be on the board when the Giants draft at six. Let's see how good of a fit his game is.

Author:
Nick Falato
Publish date:
Apr 01, 2024

In this story:

Rome Odunze

NFL Draft

New York Giants

Rome Odunze, WR

Height: 6’3

Weight: 212 lbs

Arm length: 32 ¼”

Wingspan: 76 ¾”

Hands: 9 ¼”

Class: Junior

School: Washington
STATS

MEASUREMENTS

40-yard-dash: 4.45

10-yard split: 1.52

Vertical jump: 39”

Broad jump: 10’4”

3-Cone: 6.88

20-yard shuttle: 4.03

A former four-star recruit from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he was the second-ranked recruit from his state and the 22nd wide receiver in the 2020 recruiting class while ranking 135th overall that year.

Odunze was the Gatorade Football Player of the Year for Nevada after catching 54 balls for 1,222 yards and 15 touchdowns during his senior season. He was also an accomplished sprinter in high school, winning the Nevada 4A state title in the 200 and 400-meter relay. Bishop Gorman is one of the more revered high school football programs in the country. It has produced several NFL stars, and Giants’ legends like Grey Ruegamer and Nick Gates.

Odunze was the catalyst on a talented offense for quarterback Michael Penix Jr. He caught 65.7% of his 140 targets in 2023, with an outstanding 75% contested catch rate (21 of 28). He mostly aligned out wide (81.8% in 2023), but took 23.9% of his snaps from the slot throughout his collegiate career - Washington tried him as a big slot in 2021. He ranked 20th in 2023 with 2.93 yards per route run (of WRs who received 20% of the team’s targets). Odunze had 17.8 yards per reception and a 15.5 aDot (average depth of target). He forced 15 missed tackles in 2023 and had 514 total yards after the catch.

Odunze was a CSC Academic All-American and earned a First-Team All-American selection through several large media companies while also being a First-Team All-Pac 12 selection. He was a 2023 Biletnikoff Award Finalist, and his 92 receptions ranked second-most in Washington’s history, just two catches shy of Reggie Williams’ record. Reports raved about the positive impression Odunze left in the meeting rooms with teams at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.

Strengths

* Excellent combination of size, frame, and athletic ability

* Uniquely fluid for a man of his size - solid agility

* Fluidity, feet, and hands allow him to have sudden releases off the LOS + immediate separation on fade/slant

* Solid suddenness/feet to win and stack vs. press - solid overall release package

* Quickly turns and orients his body in a controlled & balanced manner with built-up speed

--Very few receivers can do this as well as him at his size

* Sudden burst out of his breaks within 5 yards of LOS

* Good overall route runner

* Good diversity in his route tree

* Quickly accelerates off the LOS into the cushion of defenders that are off-angles himself to establish leverage pre-break - long stridder

* Works into DBs blindspot up stem to sell vertical before curl/comeback

* Elite tracking and concentration, elite ability when deep - late hands

* Exceptional body control when airborne - elevation skills for days!

*Creates space in tight coverage through positioning/hand usage

* Caused a lot of defensive holding/DPIs

* Excellent job fighting through contact before the catch point and giving himself a realistic shot to haul in the pass

* Attacks the football - great hands catcher

* Will be a mismatch WR against smaller CBs - a playmaking talent

* Wildly impressive extension and sticky fingers near the SL to haul in passes

* Sensational contested catch ability - caught 75% of his CCs in 2023

* Can make catches against tight man coverage

* Excellent overall spatial awareness

* Strong hands at the catch point - maximizes his 52nd percentile wingspan

* Vacuum of footballs that enter his orbit

* Elite back shoulder and fade weapon - rare ability in 1v1 situation

* Insane double move - fluidity for his size

--Sluggo Oregon State Q1 10:00 3rd & 9

* Secures football through contact - physical receiver

* Solid overall ability to create yards after the catch

* Shows functional foot quickness/lateral agility to make first man miss

* Good overall play strength to shed poor tackling attempts by CBs

* Good and willing blocker

* A team captain with, reportedly, elite intangibles

* Smart, tough, and dependable

[View more draft prospect scouting profiles.]

Weaknesses

* Controlled athlete - not overly explosive or sudden when changing direction

* Long speed isn’t a difference-making trait

* Functional acceleration out of his breaks, but not one consistent with a top-10 WR

* Not bad feet, but could improve efficiency consistency when releasing off the LOS

*May struggle to consistently separate against quality NFL CBs

* Wasn’t on the same page with his QB

--Michigan Q2 10:32 4th & 7

--Oregon (CC) Q1 11:12

--Washington St. Q2 11:23

--Tulsa Q2 13:58

* Lost footing at break

--Michigan Q2 2:17; Washington St. Q1 10:41; Arizona State Q2 9:30; Arizona Q1 3:21

* Not bad with YAC, but I was left wanting more from a contact balance standpoint

* Was stripped a few times and lost fumbles (3)

* Tackled easier than expected

Summary

Rome Odunze has prototype X size and is a smooth mover that plays in a balanced/controlled manner. He has the concentration of a premier baseball hitter - bats .400! His ability to track, locate, flash late hands, adjust his body, and secure catches at their highest point while shielding the catch point from defenders is elite; it’s not a surprise he caught 75% of his contested catches in 2023. There are a few WRs in college who possess his kind of body control and adjustment ability in tight spaces.

His route tree is diverse, and he displayed advanced processing up his route stem on the vertical plane, consistently working into defenders' blindspots to establish leverage and create consternation. He’s also very fluid for his size and can bend, sink his hips, and lean up his stem with a smooth, gliding, pace that allows him to create separation at the college level.

Still, he’s not exceptionally explosive out of his breaks (for a WR being discussed this high), nor does he possess a second gear, which leads to questions about his consistency with creating separation against top CBs in the NFL. Even with the 4.45 40-yard dash, these questions are fair. However, I would contend his combination of route savvy, physicality, and his defining trait—dominating 1v1 situations—along with functional short-area quickness quells my qualms. The strength in his hands and the ability to extend away from his already large frame are other important reasons to appreciate Odunze’s skill set.

Penix could have thrown a jump ball into a tall, contested phone booth, and Odunze would have found a way to secure the pass. The reported intangibles, combined with his smart, tough, and dependable playstyle, draw very realistic connections to the New York Giants, making Odunze the new face of their offense early in the 2024 NFL Draft.

GRADE: 6.89