Last year, Brian Baldinger of NFL Network said he felt the Chicago Bears snuck away from the draft with the best tackle in the class. Darnell Wright ended up earning the highest grades of any rookie offensive lineman that year, a great sign for his future and that of the team. Baldinger appeared on 670 The Score to discuss the Bears’ 2024 class. Based on his evaluations, GM Ryan Poles has done it again. In his estimation, the Bears walked away not only with the best quarterback in Caleb Williams but also the best wide receiver in Rome Odunze.
He had the Washington standout rated above Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers.
Baldinger’s reasoning comes down to Odunze’s core strengths. He runs sharp routes, plays physical, and has good speed. However, his superpower is his hands. He only dropped three passes in all of 2023 despite being one of the most targeted players in the country. His contested catch rate was 75%, which is absurd. People his size shouldn’t be able to make cuts the way he does. It is why he was also dangerous as a punt returner.
The Chicago Bears also got an unselfish player.
While Harrison continues to avoid doing anything to indicate he’s interested in anything but his own success, Odunze is already earning a reputation for his work ethic and locker room presence. As Baldinger explained above, this is something that was evident throughout college. It would’ve been easy for him to leave Washington after 2021, when the program underwent a coaching change. Everybody does it these days. However, he decided to stick it out and was rewarded with a national championship berth.
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He isn’t one of those players who will bail at the first sign of trouble. Working through problems is one of the many reasons the Chicago Bears loved him so much. It is crazy to think he might be the third-best wide receiver on this roster, which is something no 1st round receiver has ever said in this franchise’s history. If Baldinger is right and he ends up being the best at his position in this draft, it might go down as one of the greatest steals ever concocted by the organization.
