Grading Rome Odunze's underwhelming rookie season for the Bears

Rome Odunze's rookie year with the Chicago Bears was a mixed bag. Here's our grade for the first-round wide receiver's season.

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The Chicago Bears ended their 2024 season on a high by snapping their 10-game losing streak with a victory over the Green Bay Packers for the first time since 2018. Led by rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, it certainly appears GM Ryan Poles got it right in the 2024 NFL Draft.

But Williams wasn’t the only selection the Bears made in the first round last April. Wide receiver Rome Odunze was selected with the ninth overall pick with the expectation he’d add high-flying contested catches and a whole lot of touchdowns in his first year.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Instead, Odunze was an effective but unspectacular player for Chicago this season, finishing the year with 54 catches for 734 yards and three touchdowns. Compared to other first-year pass catchers, Odunze ranked sixth in yards, seventh in catches, and 12th in touchdowns. For the third receiver selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, that’s an underwhelming season by any metric.

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But not all was Odunze’s fault. The Bears’ offense struggled to get going early in the season. Williams experienced the normal rookie quarterback growing pains, and no one on Chicago’s offense was granted any favors by failed offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s system. When combined with established veteran receivers DJ Moore and Keenan Allen hoarding targets, Odunze’s shallow first-year stats are at least understandable.

Still, there wasn’t any signature moment or highlight play from Odunze that Bears fans can hang their hat on going into the offseason. He did have two 100-yard receiving games and scored two touchdowns in a loss to the 49ers, but for a highly anticipated top-10 pick? Underwhelming is an appropriate way to describe his year.

Future is bright for Rome Odunze

Despite not smashing in his rookie season, Odunze’s future remains exciting. Assuming Allen departs in free agency this offseason, he’ll take his 121 targets with him. Odunze’s role will expand in 2025, and there’s no doubt his budding relationship with Williams will afford him the lion’s share of those abandoned looks. 

But that’s for next year. Odunze left meat on the bone in 2024, and because of that, his rookie season doesn’t earn high marks.

Rome Odunze Rookie Season Grade: C+

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