Former NFL scouts Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks raised an interesting question on their Move the Sticks podcast Thursday afternoon: About which Chicago wide receiver are you most excited?
For Jeremiah, after watching every preseason snap, that player is Rome Odunze, the Bears’ second of two first-round selections (ninth overall) in April’s draft.
“It’s because of A, broken plays,” Jeremiah said. “He’s got an unbelievable, innate feel, and you’ve already seen that manifest in a big play downfield against the Bengals. He’s got a real good feel on scramble rules. In the red zone, he’s going to be able to play above the rim and really go get the ball. And then you saw them flip him a reverse. People forget, this guy returned kicks (in college). He’s really good with the ball in his hands.”
That special-teams potential might intrigue more than fans as the Bears contemplate their initial 53-man roster following their preseason finale Thursday night. In Chicago’s final roster reduction, could Odunze’s return ability factor into the Bears’ personnel decisions prior to Tuesday’s deadline?
“I feel like that wasn’t talked about enough during the evaluation,” Brooks said, “that he was a legitimate punt returner. We’ve talked about the secret sauce in great wide receivers may be their ability to return punts because it showcases their open-field running skills. Odunze, at his size as their punt returner, would say a lot about his athleticism, his toughness, running ability, and makes them a more dangerous team.”
If Chicago is going to be a dangerous team, no question, that hope starts with No. 1 overall selection Caleb Williams. Brooks said the energy created by an exciting young quarterback could even change the play of the defense.
“On the sideline,” Brooks said, “you’ll say to one another, ‘Hey man, we just need to get Caleb the ball back. Let’s just give this guy another chance and he can bring us back.’ And if you see some of the magic happen and it turns into positive results, where you see these come-from-behind wins, then it just emboldens you to have this level of confidence that no matter what the game looks like, you always have an opportunity because the guy we have as QB1 is a legitimate dude, and that legitimate dude can always bring us back.”
Jeremiah sees potential for Williams to reach 500-700 rushing yards during seasons early in his career. And, combined with magical plays in the passing game, fans in the stadium won’t leave their seats.
“I think the energy thing,” Jeremiah said, “the vibe thing, the force multiplier that exists, I think it not only ignites hope in your offensive linemen – ‘Hey, if I can just block a little bit longer, something good’s going to happen back here.’ Or, if I’m a receiver, ‘If I can just stay alive on a broken play, we’ve got a chance for something good to happen.’ And, even inside the stadium, ‘We’re down, we don’t need to go get some food; let’s stay here. They’re coming back onto the field. We might see something we’ve never seen before.’”