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Chicago Bears WR Rome Odunze makes bold statement about his NFL future

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI | By Bryan Perez | Last updated Aug 4, 2025 1:56 PM ET

Chicago Bears second-year wide receiver Rome Odunze isn't lacking confidence for the 2025 NFL season.

In fact, he's more than confident. He's ready to become the Bears' WR1, even with DJ Moore still in his prime and ready to regain the dominant form he displayed in 2023.

"I think I deserve from what I put on the practice field to be an option on every single play," Odunze told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "But at the end of the day, in a wide receiver room, I don't believe in a wide receiver 1, wide receiver 2, I think we all got to come together to have a good wide receiver corps, so I'm just glad to be part of it."

The Bears certainly expect Odunze to be more than just a part of the wide receiver room. He was seleccted ninth overall in the 2024 NFL Draft to be a dominant go-to guy. All indications suggest he's on the launching pad to becoming just that in 2025.

"I'm just really just trying to carry that (momentum from last year) over and expand on that within my entire route three, so that's something that I think I can do well, as well as the contested catches and all those things that I have kind of carried on since college," Odunze said. "So all those different things, honestly, just looking to expand on and take it to a new level."

Rome Odunze finished his rookie year with a modest 54 catches for 734 yards and three touchdowns. It's a far cry from a WR1 stat line, but in an offense that surrendered the most sacks in the NFL while having plays called by Shane Waldron, it's a miracle Odunze accounted for that much production.

He won't have those excuses this year, not with Ben Johnson at the helm and not with the revamped (and expensive) offensive line charged with blocking for Caleb Williams.

Instead, anything less than 1,100 yards and 8 touchdowns will be viewed as a disappointment.

This article first appeared on Chicago Bears on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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