Bear Digest

Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze Look Sharp in Giants Hard Knocks

The offeason version of Hard Knocks has interviews the Giants did with Rome Odunze and Caleb Williams and the duo perform like champions, or at least better than Jayden Daniels.

Gene Chamberlain

The Hard Knocks crew shoots Jets camp last year. Their work with the other New York team is now showing on HBO and both Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze are in it.
The Hard Knocks crew shoots Jets camp last year. Their work with the other New York team is now showing on HBO and both Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze are in it. / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze are rookies in the NFL but when the HBO Hard Knocks cameras come to Halas Hall, they'll be veterans.

They'll have more experience with HBO's insider cameras than most other Bears because they're small parts of episode No. 2 this week in the Giants' offseason version of Hard Knocks.

Neither comes out looking bad in their appearances, which were the combine visits with the Giants coaching staff prior to the draft.

Odunze especially comes out looking sharp and giving the right answers.

Giants GM Joe Schoen wanted Odunze to describe his best trait. It's something both Bears GM Ryan Poles and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron said they liked about Odunze.

"I would say my versatility," Odunze told Schoen. "You know, I played inside a lot in my career in some of my early-on days. I'm a blocker. I could get down on the line and get the job done, and I think I played pretty well outside.

"So you could plug-and-pull me wherever you want and I'm going to get the job done."

Schoen also wanted to know why the Giants should draft Odunze. They didn't, of course, choosing instead to take LSU receiver Malik Nabers at No. 6.

"I think, you know, other than all my skills on the field I'm a guy who is going to come into the locker room and bring the energy, bring the juice, adhere to a high standard and bring everybody along with me -- enter that room as a leader, as someone who people can look to as an example of how to do things right and how to carry yourself in a way that inspires others."

ONE WEEK OUT WITH CALEB WILLIAMS AND ROME ODUNZE STILL UNSIGNED

BEARS PLAYMAKERS WIN OVER ONE OF TEAM'S LONGTIME CRITICS

KEENAN ALLEN'S SURPRISING RANKING AMONG OVER-30 PLAYERS

BEARS READY FOR HBO HARD KNOCKS SPOTLIGHT

Daboll, sitting nearby, practically applauded and told Odunze he was "an impressive young man."

The Giants coach may have found a way to squeeze inside information out of Williams, or at least what to be wary about if the Giants are defending the Bears and Williams in the future. For that matter, it's now out there for all the other teams in the league.

Daboll asked Williams to diagram what he would have considered his go-to play if he could run something in a clutch situation.

Williams is very decisive and fast to decide which play to use. He goes right to the board to diagrams it. Now everyone in the league will know. Of course, he could change this now.

Williams also has quick answers to all of Daboll's questions about how it's run and then is informed by Daboll it was a play he used to run with Brett Favre at quarterback with the New York Jets in 2008.

Williams' appearance on the show and interview went much better than the visit the Giants had with the second pick in the draft, Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels.

Daniels had trouble repeating back play calls, which hardly can be considered a knock against him considering how fast Daboll told him the play and seemed to catch him off guard.

It was the kind of situation the HBO cameras are made for and the kind of thing the Bears feared in the past when they didn't want the "insiders" at Halas Hall.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

Published
Gene Chamberlain

GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.