While all eyes will be on quarterback Caleb Williams, wide receiver Rome Odunze needs to take a step forward as well for the Chicago Bears offense to succeed. With new head coach Ben Johnson in town, Odunze should be in a much stronger place to succeed.
From the moment he met Johnson, Odunze could tell how excited the head coach was for his Bears opportunity, via James Brizuela of Newsweek. As they begin to work together, the wide receiver has already noticed his coach’s intensity and the focus to detail he brings to every play.
Being the No. 9 pick just a year ago, Odunze knows there are lofty expectations on his shoulders. But the wide receiver is welcoming them all with open arms, dropping some goals he is trying to hit himself.
“I definitely want to at least 1000 yards. I gotta, still gotta get all my numbers in order with exactly what I want to do,” Odunze said. “So those are, those are going to be, you know, out there soon before training camp. But yeah, I want to make the Pro Bowl, All-Pro as well, and then, you know, obviously making a deep run in the playoffs will be my number one.”
Chicago Bears connection
For those goals to come to fruition, Odunze will need to form an even stronger chemistry with Williams. But the wide receiver is at least confident in their work during the offseason thus far and knows they have the potential to shine.
“I think it’s improved greatly,” Odunze said of his and Williams’ chemistry. “You know, I thought we had a great showing in OTAs and mandatory minicamp. And just, you know, learn from ach other under, you know, this, this new offense, and, you know, learning different spots. And, you know, of course, Caleb’s incredible ability to scramble and improvise when plays break down. So we’ve connected on a few of those. So I think all those plays and reps continue to help us build chemistry.”
Both quarterback and receiver will forever be tied due to being top 10 picks in the same draft class. Their arrival was expected to immediately revolutionize Chicago’s offense. While those plans were on a one-year hiatus, the Williams-Odunze connection is still poised to light up the Windy City should everything go to Johnson’s plans.
But it’s easy to theorize about two top 10 picks being special. Come Week 1, Williams, Odunze, Johnson and everyone on the Bears must prove that the franchise is truly on the upswing this time.
Rome Odunze’s transition to year two
Leading up to training camp, Odunze says he is focusing on getting his body ready and fully understanding Johnson’s new playbook. With a year of NFL experience under his belt, the wide receiver understands what it takes to succeed at this level.
“Honestly, I just learned a lot. It was a year of learning, like, foundation building. I feel like, you know, obviously the NFL is a whole different, you know, thing than college football and a whole different setting, whole different team, so just kind of getting used to those things, I feel like, was the biggest takeaway from it all, and just gaining my bearings for, like, how to operate at the NFL level and how to, you know, conduct myself, out the locker room with what I need to be doing when I need to be doing this.”
During his rookie campaign, Odunze caught 54 passes for 734 yards and three touchdowns. He ranked third on the team in both receptions and yardage as well as fourth in touchdowns. With Keenan Allen, and his 70 catches for 744 yards and a team-leading seven touchdowns, leaving the organization, Odunze is in line to see a higher level of opportunity.
What he does with that responsibility is up to the receiver. But Johnson and company are expecting a major rise out of Odunze entering his sophomore campaign.
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