Rome Odunze Week 1 Fantasy Football Expectations

We are quick to forget just how good Rome Odunze was to start the 2025 fantasy football season. Odunze started out hot, scoring at least 15 points in each of his first four games. That included a monster 31.8-point Week 2 performance.

That said, Odunze would never be able to keep up that consistency, and it’s also worth noting that he suffered a foot injury. With Luther Burden III getting a ton of hype this summer, Odunze has been hardly talked about.

Then it was reported on September 9th by Courtney Cronin on X that “Rome Odunze has a calf injury and would have been limited in practice if the Bears had a session on Wednesday.” Not great news.

That said, on September 11th, Underdog NFL on X cited Jason Lieser and posted this:

“Rome Odunze (calf) said he’ll play Week 1, per @JasonLieser.”

With good news coming out for Odunze and his fantasy football managers, we’ll take a look at what you should expect in Week 1.

What to Expect From Rome Odunze in Week 1: Fantasy Football

Now, I still believe in Odunze, as he was a great prospect coming out of Washington, getting drafted 9th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Bears have talented weapons, and he’s still the highest-drafted receiver of the bunch. 

However, the matchup for Odunze isn’t great. The Panthers ranked 24th in points allowed to fantasy football wide receivers last year, and while that doesn’t take into account any moves made this summer, it’s not what you want to see.

Then, on the PFF matchup tool, Odunze only gets a “fair” matchup grade as he’s set to take on 

Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson for 11.07 snaps each. In regard to Jackson, that ranks in the red on PFF.

Between the injury concerns and not a great matchup, I wouldn’t be looking to start Rome Odunze in week 1. I’m still fairly bullish on Odunze for the rest of this fantasy football season, but he’s in a prove-it stage right now.