The Bears' Odunze has a distinct vision for this year's season.
The Caleb Williams/Rome Odunze aerial circus is still months away from getting its start in the Windy City of Chicago, but already Odunze is making bold statements about his 2023-2024 goals.
The Washington Huskies alum made his statement during a week when Bears president Kevin Warren shared a confident take on stadium setbacks. Odunze's running mate DJ Moore also shared a take on what frustrated him about the Chicago Bears' defense.
Odunze didn't quite cash in his immense talents with a national championship this past winter. Now, all bets are off with training camp just months away.
Rome Odunze has big plans for year one
The 6-foot-3, 216 pounder has plenty of incentive to succeed with the Bears. He tasted the glory of an undefeated regular season with Coach Kalen DeBoer's team and now he's planning to take his talents to the next level.
Odunze said he is gunning for Puka Nakua's NFL rookie records, set last season with the Rams.
“I went to school with Puka Nakua, so I'm absolutely chasing that,” Odunze said according to Ben Devine on X. Considering Odunze's gaudy 2023-24 stats, it's no wonder he's setting the bar high. Odunze racked up 92 catches for 1,640 yards and 13 touchdowns with Washington last season.
The Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze connection
The duo of Rome Odunze and Caleb Williams gives Bears fans plenty of optimism for this season. Williams and Odunze have the type of talent the Bears have pretty much never seen throughout their history as a franchise, except for a few standout players like Brandon Marshall and Jay Cutler.
The Bears went just 7-10 last season in the NFC North but have been picked as a team capable of reaching new heights this season, perhaps even going from worst to first in the division.
It won't be an easy task with Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions manning the mountaintop, but it's a distinct possibility to anyone who's seen Odunze light up opposing defenses in the Pac-12. The Bears' offense put the fear of God into opponents last season with Justin Fields at the controls, and now they are attempting to do the same with a completely revamped cast of characters on offense.
If Odunze can play the Puka Nacua role to a tee and Caleb Williams lives up to his potential, the Bears might have something cooking. If not, it could be another rebuilding season in Chi-Town without a whole lot of optimism until the end of next year's NFL Draft.
