Ben Johnson sees Bears' rising star as a 'complete receiver' but is still pushing the limit of what he can bring to Chicago's offense

Rome Odunze is soon to be the clear focal point of Ben Johnson's offense

"He really is to me, I know he's only a second-year player, but he's very much a complete receiver," Johnson added. "He's willing in the run game, as I mentioned before, but as a route runner, he's got the ability to win one-on-ones for a big, long guy. He's got the ability to change direction and separate, probably more so than a lot of guys I've been around. And so, when you have a guy like that, that can separate, yet has a huge catch radius and can go up and get the football, I think it's a unique skill set."

As high praise as that is coming from Johnson considering all the talented wide receivers he's worked with in the NFL, Odunze's coach still sees some areas of growth he's looking to bring out of him.

"We're still working through his route tree. There's a number of things that we've introduced to this offense that he's really taken to and then we're continuing to push the limit each week and have him do some things that we haven't asked him to do yet," Johnson explained. "We're just going to continue to learn and grow together."

That skill set and potential is what led the Bears toward drafting Odunze with the ninth overall pick last season. The front office and scouts saw a player who can do it all at the next level and eventually be the go-to guy for an offense. Pairing him with quarterback Caleb Williams right out of the gate as rookies helped build the trust between the two so that Odunze can have a smooth transition into that role for this offense.

"That's just us being together for a year and a half now," Williams said. "So being able to keep that rhythm with him, being able to get in rhythm with the other wide receivers… It's important to have everybody going and everybody understand their role in this offense and that everybody is important. When you have a guy come out and he's making great catches for you and getting off-man coverage and press, you want to keep feeding him the ball, and that's just what happened."

Odunze is unlike anything Johnson has worked with before and Johnson knows that. It's great to see him willing to push the limit of what Odunze can handle, because sooner than later, he's going to be the top guy for this offense, beyond the passing game.

So far, Odunze has been up to the challenge, and more importantly, producing when it matters.