Ahead of his third NFL season, receiver Rome Odunze has one goal — taking a step forward in every part of his game.
"Wide receiver play in general," Odunze said Tuesday. "I honestly just want to fine-tune every single one of those things. Obviously, want to be better at the catch point this year, make a lot more contested catches. Make some tough catches over the middle as well as route running.
"I feel like my route running is up there, but I have a few nicks and knacks that I can clear up and make even better. Yards after catch. Run after catch is definitely something I'm looking to improve on as well. I'm watching Luther's tape, looking at how he's making defenders miss, trying to do some of that, as well as Swift.
"All around, I feel like I can improve and just be one of the best in the league."
Following a strong start to the 2025 campaign, when he was the only NFL player to have a touchdown reception in each of the first four games, Odunze was bothered throughout the season by a foot injury, which hampered his sophomore season.
However, he battled back to return for the Bears' playoff run and was on the receiving end of the most memorable plays of the year when he caught a 27-yard pass from quarterback Caleb Williams on fourth-and-8 while the Bears trailed 27-16 in the fourth quarter – the play that inspired Williams' EA SPORTS Madden NFL 27 cover.
A little more than six months later, Odunze feels he is at full strength.
"I don't think about it, honestly," he said regarding his foot injury. "I really don't think about it. My team here, the training staff here, as well as my team in the offseason, we put in a lot of work to get those right. So I have my routine to stay on top of it."
Throughout training camp, Odunze has flashed the playmaking ability that he's put on tape since his college days at Washington, where he developed a reputation for catching 50/50 balls and ranked among the nation's leaders in contested catches and contested catch percentage. Those types of plays have been an emphasis for Bears pass catchers during camp.
"I think that's definitely something, especially on the outside, those opportunities just to stress the defense," Odunze said. "I feel like when it's a 1-on-1 opportunity out there, and we got safety leverage or 1-on-1, 50/50 ball is one of my [specialties]. So, something I'm excited about, something we've definitely worked on in camp."
Between the receivers, tight ends and running backs, the Bears have a plethora of pass catchers who are primed to make those types of impact plays in 2026. Odunze has seen coach Ben Johnson and the offensive staff focus on accounting for each player's skill set and putting everyone in positions to succeed within the complex system.
Tight end Colston Loveland is an example of a player that Odunze has seen flourish within the offense during training camp.
"Rare, a diamond," Odunze said about Loveland's skill set. "It's impressive just to see his route-running ability. It's incredible. And then you get him down blocking on a six stack or something, and he's holding his own like he's a tackle. So, his versatility is truly incredible. I'm super glad that he's on the crew, and I learned a lot from him as well just from his movement and his fluidity in and out of his routes."
The next step for Odunze and the Bears offense is taking everything they've been working on since the start of camp and displaying it in their joint practice with the Bengals Thursday.
"Man, I'm looking forward to going against somebody else," Odunze said. "I've been going against our defense for a while now, so it'll be exciting to go against a different opponent. I'm a fan of Ja'Marr [Chase] and seeing that receiver corps over there as well. So, looking to see their reps and our DBs get after them."
While it's still to be determined whether Bears starters will play in the second preseason game Saturday in Cincinnati, Odunze is focused on getting the most out of Thursday's practice. He noted that a joint practice can sometimes be more beneficial because the teams can plan specific looks or work on specific plays they wouldn't be able to replicate in a game.
Thursday will provide Odunze an opportunity to witness one of the league's top receiver tandems firsthand in the Bengals' Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, as well as the duo's longstanding relationships with quarterback Joe Burrow — something he is looking to replicate with Williams.
"I feel like Tee just moves so well for his height," Odunze said. "He's fluid in and out of his routes, and then he has tremendous catch-point radius, going up, contested catch. I feel like Ja'Marr is incredible after the catch as well, some of the catches that he makes over the middle as well as his go-ball chemistry with Joe. [It's] something I'm looking to get and display with Caleb as well."
