Odunze's rookie season was marred by one of the worst uncatchable ball rates in the NFL. Less than half of his air yards came on throws that were deemed catchable. He also dealt with target competition problems from D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen. Allen is gone, but the team drafted both Colston Loveland and Luther Burden, so the target situation may not be improved. Still, this is a former top-10 pick in the NFL Draft who had 1,640 receiving yards in his final season at Washington. If he hits his ceiling, he can overcome competition. For now, we view Odunze as a WR4 worthy of a pick in Round 8 of redraft leagues. He's far more valuable in Dynasty due to his upside and youth, so view him as a WR2 in that format, though a slow start would change that quickly. Remember, we had many of these same concerns with Jaxon Smith-Njigba a year ago, and things turned out just fine for him. Expect the Bears' WRs ADPs to be unstable as camp reports and coachspeak influence our target estimations.
Odunze finished with three receptions on five targets for 45 yards and a touchdown in Friday's preseason win over Kansas City.
Odunze showed marked improvement over his catchless outing last week with Friday's team-leading performance. The 2024 first-round pick caught QB Caleb Williams' only passing touchdown while also finishing with Chicago's longest reception (37 yards). Odunze will attempt to build off of a modest 54-734-3 receiving line as a rookie when the Bears kick off the regular season against the Vikings on Sept. 8.
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Bears' Rome Odunze: Quiet in preseason debut
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Odunze failed to catch his only target in Sunday's 38-0 preseason win over Buffalo.
Chicago's offense looked sharp in its brief debut Sunday, but Odunze didn't contribute much offensively before giving way to the backups. The 2024 first-round selection has been earning rave reviews in camp, so don't let this bagel in an exhibition game sour his fantasy stock. Odunze will serve as the Bears' No. 2 wideout this upcoming season in what should be an improved offense under head coach Ben Johnson.
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Bears' Rome Odunze: In line to play Sunday
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Odunze is expected to play along with the rest of Chicago's starters during Sunday's preseason game against the Bills, Sean Hammond of the Chicago Tribune reports.
The Bears did not play their first-team offense or defense during last Sunday's 24-24 tie versus Miami, so Odunze has yet to suit up this preseason. The second-year wideout collected 54 of 101 targets for 734 yards and three touchdowns over 17 regular-season games as a rookie, and he's stood out while catching passes from quarterback Caleb Williams during training camp practices. Odunze should be in line for a productive season as Chicago's No. 2 WR behind DJ Moore and ahead of second-round rookie Luther Burden and veteran Olamide Zaccheaus.
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Bears' Rome Odunze: Impressive in team drills
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Odunze made a strong impression Thursday, hauling in a 14-yard gain over the middle to start the end-of-half drill. He also adjusted to a pass behind him, ripping it away from a defender to move the chains, Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic reports.
Odunze is trying to build on a 2024 rookie season where he posted 734 receiving yards, showing the contested-catch skills that helped him stand out at times last year. His growing chemistry with Caleb Williams suggests a path to steady production, particularly with his ability to win tough catches in traffic. That skill set makes him a viable mid-round fantasy target with upside if the Bears' passing game progresses.
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Bears' Rome Odunze: Comes down with illness
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Odunze was held out of Wednesday's walk-through practice due to an illness.
Fortunately for the rookie first-round pick, Odunze's status for Week 18 isn't in peril, as interim head coach Thomas Brown told Scott Bair of Marquee Sports Network. Odunze will have two more chances this week to get on the practice field before the Bears potentially give him a designation ahead of Sunday's game at Green Bay.
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Bears' Rome Odunze: Second in receiving yards Sunday
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Odunze brought in four of seven targets for 77 yards in the Bears' 34-17 loss to the Lions on Sunday.
Odunze was second in receiving yards on the afternoon for the Bears while checking in third in both receptions and targets. Caleb Williams threw for over 300 yards and completed a solid 65.0 percent of his throws, so it wasn't surprising to see Odunze put up a more efficient catch rate than usual as well. The rookie wideout's yardage total was his highest since Week 9, affording him some solid momentum heading into a Week 17 home matchup against the Seahawks on Thursday night.
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Bears' Rome Odunze: Struggles in MNF loss
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Odunze finished with two receptions (on seven targets) for 39 yards in Monday's 30-12 loss to the Vikings.
Odunze was unable to replicate his two-score game from a week prior, instead providing fantasy managers with just two receptions in Monday's lopsided defeat. The Bears' first-round rookies struggled to get on the same page after Caleb Williams connected with Odunze on just 29 percent of his throws against Minnesota. Odunze has potential to go off on a given week, but his floor is too low to rely on against the Lions on Sunday for managers making critical lineup decisions in the fantasy playoffs.
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Bears' Rome Odunze: First multi-score game of career
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Odunze caught four of five targets for 42 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's 38-13 loss to the 49ers.
Odunze cashed in a pair of garbage-time touchdowns in Sunday's blowout loss for the first multi-score game of his young career. When the rookie scored during the contest shouldn't matter to fantasy managers, who had witnessed just one trip to the end zone over the wideout's previous 12 contests. Odunze's inconsistency in Chicago's flailing offense keeps him from relevance in shallower formats ahead of next Monday's tilt against Minnesota.
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Bears' Rome Odunze: Makes five catches Sunday
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Odunze gathered in five of 10 targets for 39 yards and no touchdowns during Sunday's 30-27 loss to the Vikings.
Odunze recorded double-digit targets for the second game in a row (and third time on the campaign), but he wasn't very efficient with his looks from QB Caleb Williams, unlike fellow WRs DJ Moore (7-106-1 on seven targets) and Keenan Allen (9-86-1 on 15 targets) and TE Cole Kmet (7-64-0 on 10 targets). Lacking efficiency has been a season-long trend for the rookie, as Odunze's catch rate (55.7 percent) and YPT (7.4) indicate. His next chance to produce arrives Thursday at Detroit.
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Bears' Rome Odunze: Six targets in defeat
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Odunze caught three passes for 23 yards in the Bears' 19-3 loss to the Patriots on Sunday.
Odunze was showing signs of life after posting the second 100-yard game of his career last week. However, with Caleb Williams passing for just 120 yards against New England, there was little opportunity for any Chicago receiver to do well. Odunze is a rising star, but in the short term, he may be limited by the Bears offense.
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Bears' Rome Odunze: Week 10 Adds (WR Preview)
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Caleb Williams is averaging 8.9 yards per attempt when targeting Rome Odunze. His throws to D.J. Moore (6.2) and Keenan Allen (4.7) have been far less effective. Odunze played 88% of the snaps in Week 9 and saw his second-highest target total (7) of the season. Rookie often break out in the second half, it may be Odunze's time.
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Bears' Rome Odunze: Showing rapport with Williams
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Odunze recorded five receptions on seven targets for 104 yards in Sunday's 29-9 loss to the Cardinals.
Odunze's role in Chicago's offense is becoming more consistent, as he has commanded 13 targets across the team's last two games combined. He made the most of his chances Sunday, highlighted by a 44-yard catch early in the second quarter when he broke free of Arizona's secondary. Odunze added three additional receptions of at least 15 yards, ultimately accounting for four of the team's five longest plays from scrimmage. While Keenan Allen remains Caleb Williams' favorite target, Odunze has emerged as a more explosive option in the offense and could be in for a big second half of the season.
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Bears' Rome Odunze: Five catches in Week 5 win
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Odunze caught five of six targets for 40 yards in Sunday's 36-10 win over the Panthers.
Odunze tied Keenan Allen for second on the team in targets, but DJ Moore continued to work as the clear leader in Chicago's passing game, turning his team-high eight targets into 105 yards and two touchdowns. Of Odunze's 206 receiving yards through five games, 112 came in a Week 3 outburst while Allen was sidelined by a heel injury. The rookie first-round pick's speed could give Jacksonville's struggling secondary trouble in Week 6, but Odunze has a low floor while battling Moore and Allen for targets.
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Bears' Rome Odunze: Limited to one catch Sunday
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Odunze secured one of three targets for 10 yards in the Bears' 24-18 win over the Rams on Sunday.
The rookie shifted back to a No. 3 role with Keenan Allen returning from a two-game absence due to a heel injury, and he saw a major downturn in production as a result. Odunze's target and yardage totals were his lowest yet through four games, so he'll have plenty of room for improvement in a Week 5 home matchup against the Panthers.
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Bears' Rome Odunze: Tending to hip issue
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Odunze practiced in a limited capacity Thursday due to a hip injury.
Odunze is a midweek addition to the Bears' Week 4 practice report, but the current issue differs from the MCL sprain that he suffered in the season opener and impacted his practice reps during Weeks 2 and 3. He was able to tough out the injury the last two games while Keenan Allen (heel) was sidelined, combining for eight catches (on 16 targets) for 145 yards and one touchdown during that span. Allen has cobbled together back-to-back capped sessions this week, so their respective listings on Friday's report will be something to monitor in advance of Sunday's contest against the Rams.
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Bears' Rome Odunze: Week 4 Adds (WR Preview)
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Like Jennings, I'm not sure Odunze can keep this up when Keenan Allen returns, but unlike Jennings, we fully anticipated this type of upside from the rookie. Odunze should not be on the waiver wire, and he shouldn't be on the waiver wire if he's bad in Week 4 and Week 5, either. First-round rookies need to be rostered for as long as possible because if they hit, they have league-winning upside, which Odunze just showed.
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Bears' Rome Odunze: Stays limited Thursday
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Odunze (knee) was limited in practice Thursday.
Odunze now has a pair of capped sessions under his belt this week, which is one more than he managed during Week 2 prep before he was able to suit up this past Sunday in Houston. With Keenan Allen (heel) sidelined for that contest, Odunze earned 66 of 70 offensive snaps, but the huge workload didn't amount to much for him in the box score (two catches for 33 yards on five targets). Allen hasn't practiced this week and thus seems to be trending toward another absence Sunday at Indianapolis, so Odunze would be in line for another key spot in the Bears' receiving corp this weekend, assuming he's active.
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Bears' Rome Odunze: Limited in practice Wednesday
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Odunze (knee) practiced in a limited capacity Wednesday.
Odunze was capped to one limited session last week before the Bears deemed him questionable for this past Sunday's game at Houston. He ended up suiting up while fellow wide receiver Keenan Allen (heel) did not, but despite playing 66 of 70 offensive snaps, Odunze had just two catches (on five targets) for 33 yards. Odunze's limited session Wednesday indicates he's still dealing with the MCL sprain that he picked up Week 1, but he at least was able to mix into drills unlike Allen, who once again didn't practice.
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Bears' Rome Odunze: Nabs two receptions in loss
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Odunze (knee) had two receptions off of five targets for 33 yards in Sunday's 19-13 loss to Houston.
Chicago's QB/WR rookie starting duo continue to struggle two weeks into the season following synchronized duds on Sunday Night Football. Odunze had an opportunity late to make a leaping touchdown grab in the red zone, but the wideout from Washington dropped a high-point pass from Caleb Williams in the first half that hit him in the hands. There will be better days ahead for the Bears' offense as a whole, but it's tough to trust a player in fantasy that has provided just three receptions (on nine targets) and no scores through two games. Odunze's next opportunity to break out will come against Indianapolis on Sunday.
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Bears' Rome Odunze: Suiting up in Week 2
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Odunze (knee) is active for Sunday's game in Houston.
Odunze came out of the Bears' season-opening win against the Titans with an MCL sprain, and while he sat out practice Wednesday and Thursday, he returned in a limited capacity to cap Week 2 prep and went into the weekend listed as questionable. Earlier Sunday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Odunze was trending toward being available, which now has come to pass. With fellow WR Keenan Allen (heel) unavailable, Odunze will be among the Bears at the position available to QB Caleb Williams along with DJ Moore, DeAndre Carter, Tyler Scott and Collin Johnson.
