After spending the No. 1 overall pick on a projected prodigy in Caleb Williams, the Chicago Bears picked WR Rome Odunze ninth overall, continuing a theme of building a core of pass catchers that can compete with anyone in the league.
Will the fantasy football points pile up across the board, or is asking three receivers to be consistently productive in a new-look offense simply too much to ask?
Should You Select Rome Odunze at His Current ADP?
ADP: 101st Overall (WR44)
Odunze is currently being drafted as a reserve receiver in the Round 8-9 range, depending on your league’s appetite for rookies. I’m not drafting him in any of those windows and plan on having essentially zero shares in redraft (dynasty is a VERY different discussion).
Ladd McConkey and Xavier Worthy are a pair of rookies going in this same general range and, as simple as it seems, advantages in their respective roles are enough for me to overlook a slight talent gap.
Yes, maybe McConkey and Worthy are only 80% of the prospect that Odunze is. However, as the top receiver in a Justin Herbert offense and a starter under Patrick Mahomes with a similar target expectancy as Odunze, I prefer each of those options to Chicago’s promising WR3.
- Justin Watson (Kansas City Chiefs): 27-460-3 in 16 games
- Cade Otton (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): 47-455-4 in 17 games
Those are just two examples of the third pass catcher in offenses and the stat line that they posted a season ago.
Do I think Odunze is more talented than both of those players? Of course, but with proven receivers ahead of him (Keenan Allen and DJ Moore) and weekly variance under center, the path to fantasy failure, for me, is much clearer than the avenue to meaningful consistency.
The San Francisco 49ers pulled off the three-pass-catcher thing (Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle all caught 60-75 passes and scored 6-7 times), but it required proven NFL talent and a historically efficient season from Brock Purdy.
I like Williams as much as the next analyst, but counting on him to be 2023 Brock Purdy is too optimistic for my liking. Even if Williams were to pull that off, there’s just as good a chance that it’s because he heavily features his two veteran receivers instead of involving a third option.
I understand wanting to bet on talent, but do it in a DFS setting where you can cherry-pick your spot.
Let me help you out. The Bears travel to a fast track in Detroit on Thanksgiving Day against a Lions defense that owned the second-highest opponent aDOT (average depth of target) a season ago.
You’re welcome.
Odunze’s Fantasy Profile for the 2024 NFL Season
Talent and situation are the two primary boxes we look to check when evaluating a fantasy asset, so let’s start there.
Odunze is great.
He averaged 103.1 receiving yards during his final two seasons in Washington, scoring 20 touchdowns in those 27 games and averaging 16.7 yards per catch in the process. In his pre-draft scouting report of Odunze, Pro Football Network Draft Analyst Ian Cummings had this to say about the five-star prospect:
“Overall, he’s a versatile weapon with usage flexibility and dynamic RAC value, but he also has the operational utility to produce on day one in the NFL.
As a route runner, Odunze flashes exceptional spatial awareness, hinge fluidity, freedom of motion, manipulation ability, and throttle control. And as a catcher, he’s an elite instinctive force with an awe-inspiring blend of patience, ball-tracking ability, and coordination.”
Reminder – Rome Odunze is 6'3" 212 lbs 😳
🎥: @NFLRookieWatxh pic.twitter.com/wc4a0J2jRO https://t.co/Mzu3bqPfIf
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) June 20, 2024
OK, so the talent box is checked — without much question. That’s a great place to start, but having a Ferrari in your garage is only valuable if you have a road to drive it on.