The Chicago Bears drafted Rome Odunze in the hopes that he would become a true go-to guy for Caleb Williams. It’s been a long time since they had a genuine #1 wide receiver. This felt like the first time since Brandon Marshall where they had someone with all of the necessary traits. Two and a half seasons into his career, the sentiment around Odunze is complicated. He’s not a bad receiver. He’s been too productive to say that. However, he has not taken that final step to become a legitimate #1 target.
More and more, it feels like Luther Burden is assuming that role after a stellar showing against New England on Thursday night. However, that game may have cemented a different identity for Odunze. True, he hasn’t become the demon many thought he would, but one truth has surfaced about him that can’t be denied.
Odunze is a clutch wide receiver.
It feels like every time the Bears have needed a big catch in a big moment, he is the one who makes the play. He proved it last season with that massive 4th and 8 catch against the Packers in the playoffs. Then, in the 4th quarter against New England, he made 3 catches for 63 yards. Two of them were on 3rd and long.
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Rome Odunze was money when the chips were down.
The first play came on 3rd and 11 from the Bears’ 13-yard line. Williams does an incredible job dodging a free Patriots blitzer, resets his feet and fires a pass to a wide open Odunze for a first down. This is more of a great play by the quarterback, but it once again shows the receiver knew where he needed to be and made sure to secure the catch. While that drive ultimately ended in a missed field goal, it ended up burning 7 precious minutes off the clock, shrinking New England’s window to come back. Everything hinged on that first down grab.
Yet somehow that was just the appetizer. The big moment came on the very next drive. Again, the Bears were pinned deep in their own zone. This time, they faced 3rd and 9. The Patriots dropped 7 in coverage and seemed to have all parts of the field blanketed. Williams fired a pass that just cleared the outstretched fingers of safety Kevin Byard. That alone was crazy. Yet Rome Odunze may have somehow outshined his quarterback by corkscrewing his body back around to make a near-fingertip catch for the first down.
It didn’t stop there.
Facing a 2nd and 12 later in that same drive, Odunze again found open space on an out route. After Williams put it on him, the receiver showed good awareness to turn it upfield for another first down. A few plays later, Cairo Santos kicked a career-long 58-yard field goal to put the game on ice.
This is far from the first game in which Odunze has done something like this. Look back over his career, and you’ll find snapshots of it every time the Bears were in tight games. Everybody remembers Williams’ scrambles in the comeback against New York last year. They forget Odunze put them within striking distance on the previous drive with two big catches. He had the biggest catch on the game-winning TD drive to beat Las Vegas earlier that season. People also forget his two massive grabs on the final drive against Green Bay at Soldier Field in 2024 because the game-winning field goal was blocked.
Odunze might not be a star wide receiver, but he’s a big-game player. Guys like that are incredibly valuable when you need to beat good teams in tight games.
