Rome Odunze

Rome Odunze is a prime talent and was the number one receiver in Chicago until injury. Luther Burden came on strong in his absence and has been heavily favored to take the number one slot. A preseasn injury has derailed that talk, but there is enough room in this offense for two fantasy starters. I still think Odunze will outperform Burden and rank him accordingly.

Odunze is a special talent on the outside, and his chemistry with Caleb Williams will only grow in year two. The only real headache for fantasy managers is the sheer depth of this Chicago receiving corps. He is going to have some big weeks, but you should expect a little up-and-down variance along the way.

Odunze was on pace for a breakout before a left foot stress fracture and plantar fasciitis derailed his season in October. Luther Burden deserves the hype, but Chicago has one of the few offenses capable of supporting two top-24 fantasy receivers.

The commentary on Rome Odunze was more predictable than many realize. Odunze is the vertical threat in the Bears' offense, and he earned more targets with smaller odds of success. 

True, Odunze made multiple unforced errors, but switch the roles between Odunze and the combination of Luther Burden and Olamide Zaccheaus, and you'd see the catch rates flip-flip to an extent. 

I don't believe Odunze will ever be the top option in Ben Johnson's offense. There may be a narrow gap between Odunze as the WR2 or WR3 and the 1-2 options outproducing him but unless he's a Randy Moss level of talent, the catch rate with vertical targets will be inherently lower and generate more boom-bust production relative to Burden and Colston Loveland. 

Expect Odunze to approach 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns but not reach these marks this year.