The 2024 NFL Draft is here, making it an excellent time to highlight some of the class' best players with scouting reports. Each report will include strengths, weaknesses and background information.
Here's our report on Rome Odunze.
Odunze is a strong prospect with a higher-level traits profile, given his size, movement and catching ability. What stands out most with Odunze is his exceptional hands consistently. He showed the ability to catch the ball away from his frame, making contested catches on the sideline and in the middle of the field.
He showed this on deep balls, including the control to contort his body to adjust to back shoulder and poorly thrown balls. He is outstanding going up and getting the ball at its highest point, with the body flexibility to adjust to any throw.
Odunze can line up outside and inside, and there is a smoothness and fluidity to his route running that at times makes everything look easy. While he is not a true vertical dimension with the desired long speed, his size, stride length and uncanny ability to track the deep ball allow him to be a factor even if he has not created meaningful separation from the corner.
What Odunze lacks, based on tape study, is explosiveness, long speed and the natural quickness and burst to get in and out of breaks with juice. Overall, I believe he can be a quality NFL wide receiver who can give an offense location versatility as an X, Z and a slot.
He will always be consistent in catching the ball. His ability to make tough contested catches cannot be overstated, and that trait will be a big factor in his transition to the next level.
Odunze attended Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, where he was also a sprinter. He won the Nevada 4A state title in the 200m and 400m relay.
In 2022, Odunze almost exclusively lined up outside to the field and the boundary. There were snaps in empty formations in which he was in the slot.
In 2023, Odunze had 140 targets, 43 of which came from the slot (31 percent of his targets). He had 30 catches for 508 yards with 16.9 yards per catch out of the slot.
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