Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears, Round 1, Pick 9
According to Jordan Schultz, the Chicago Bears drafted Rome Odunze with the ninth pick of Round 1.
Fantasy Football Impact for Rome Odunze Chicago Bears
Rome Odunze is a Chicago Bear. In recent days, stories leaked about throwing sessions that featured Caleb Williams working with DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, and Odunze. Now, we will all see that grouping weekly.
New offensive coordinator Shane Waldron's 2023 Seattle Seahawks are an easy starting point for the numbers of this Bears unit. The Seahawks featured a tight target grouping, with Tyler Lockett (122), DK Metcalf (119), and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (93) accounting for 61% of the targets. Waldron's previous background with the Los Angeles Rams was another heavy three-wide receiver set offense featuring Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, and Brandin Cooks for most of his time with the team.
Allen is the easiest to project. Smith-Njigba's Average Depth of Target was 5.8 in 2023. Very short. Allen operated between 7.2 and 8.6 from 2020 to 2022 before pushing to 9.6 in 2023 in Kellen Moore's scheme. Expect him to serve as the short to intermediate safety valve.
Size-wise, Moore compares to Lockett (10.8 ADOT, nearly identical to Moore's 10.9 from 2023), and Odunze is a natural comparison to Metcalf, who pushed the field further at 12.8 ADOT. Early, expect Odunze to serve as the field stretcher and Moore as the primary receiver, but both can win at all three levels. That ability makes this Bears' trio the most dangerous of Waldron's career, assuming Odunze develops quickly and Allen has good football left.
Long term, this is a fantastic landing spot for Odunze. He has the opportunity to grow along with Williams and establish himself as the team's primary receiver in short order. Few young receivers can match Odunze's quarterback connection if Williams reaches his ceiling.
Odunze has a significant opportunity in the red zone, as no other receiver on the Bears can match his physical presence
The Fantasy Football Fallout
Caleb Williams is easily the biggest winner of this selection. It is easy to see how the three receivers, along with Cole Kmet and D'Andre Swift, split up the targets and end up with ceilings as low-end WR2s or WR3s. Metcalf's PPR per game average was WR23, while Lockett fell outside of the top 36.
For more on the fallout of the Williams selection, check out Dave Kluge's instant reaction.
Odunze has an extremely wide range of outcomes as a rookie. He could be the Puka Nacua and establish an immediate rapport with Williams (Ja'Marr Chase to Joe Burrow may be a more accurate comparison). Or he could be frustrating as targets are spread wide.
Stock Watch
Risers
- Caleb Williams
- Rome Odunze (Long Term)
Fallers
- Rome Odunze (Short Term)
- DJ Moore
- Keenan Allen
- D'Andre Swift
- Cole Kmet
Overview
Rome Odunze lands in a fantastic long-term landing spot with the ability to grow as Caleb Williams' primary receiver. The offensive environment is very rich in the short term, but the potential of spreading targets thin is real. He has an extremely large range of outcomes short term and ADP will play a big role in the risk profile.
For more information on the 2024 NFL Draft, check out the Footballguys Rookie Draft Guide, where you can read about the Chicago Bears' Rome Odunze and other rookie team fits.
