Rome Odunze Fantasy Overview

2025 Role & Results

Production & Fantasy Finishes

Odunze caught 44 balls for 661 yards and 6 TDs across 12 games last year. He finished 27th among WRs in both PPR and half-PPR points per game.

Odunze’s 2025 got off to a hot start: 20 catches, 296 yards, and 5 TDs over his first four games. Only two WRs scored more fantasy points over that stretch.

But Odunze went cold the rest of the way, due at least in part to a lingering foot injury. He ranked 55th among WRs in PPR points per game from Week 5 on.

Usage & Role

Odunze operated as Chicago’s top WR when he was on the field last year. Across his 12 games, he led the team with a:

• 79.7% route rate
• 0.24 targets per route
• 21.9% target share

That target share ranked 21st among WRs league-wide.

Odunze was used primarily downfield, rocking a 14.3-yard average target depth. His 1,257 air yards in 12 games ranked fourth among all WRs.

Odunze was also featured near the end zone. Through Week 13, he ranked:

• 14th among WRs in red-zone targets (11)
• 16th in targets inside the 10-yard line (5)
• fifth in end-zone targets (11)

It was a valuable fantasy role that landed Odunze 12th among WRs in expected PPR points per game.

Efficiency & Regression

Odunze ranked 12th in expected PPR points per game but just 27th in actual points per game. He was the eighth-biggest underachiever at the position.

QB Caleb Williams deserves plenty of blame. He ranked 39th among 42 qualifying QBs in on-target pass percentage. Odunze’s 59% catchable target rate ranked 72nd among 76 WRs with 50+ targets.

But Odunze also dropped four passes (8.3% drop rate) and came down with just seven of 18 contested targets (38.9%).

He finished 38th among 76 qualifying WRs in yards per route and 36th in Pro Football Focus receiving grade.

Offensive Context

The 2025 Bears finished sixth in total yards and ninth in points. It was a run-leaning offense, ranking:

• 24th in pass rate
• 21st in neutral pass rate
• 20th in pass rate over expected

But the Bears ranked sixth in offensive pace (seconds per play) and second in total plays. That vaulted them to 10th in pass attempts.

Historical Production & Trends

Odunze climbed from 8.6 PPR points per game as a 2024 rookie to 12.2 last year.

Some of that jump came from a big improvement in Chicago’s offense (28th to ninth in points). But Odunze’s individual metrics also improved:

Odunze was the ninth overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft after racking up 2,785 yards and 20 TDs over his final two seasons at Washington.

Injury History & Durability

Odunze missed the final five games of the regular season with what was reported as a stress fracture in his left foot. It’s unclear exactly when the injury occurred, but he appeared on the injury report with a heel as early as Week 9.

Odunze returned for Chicago’s two playoff games and did not need offseason surgery. But he admitted in early June that the foot still doesn’t feel back to normal.

“It’s not from a standpoint that I’m always in pain, but the way my foot broke there’s callouses in there that, like, creates a different type of foot structure with those bones. Different types of things that kind of shift things around,” Odunze said.

That will be a situation to monitor this summer.

2026 Opportunity & Projection

Projected Role & Competition

Odunze finds additional target opportunity in 2026 with the offseason departure of WR D.J. Moore to Buffalo. Moore ranked second among Bears last year with 85 targets (14.8% share). The team also lost WR Olamide Zaccheaus, who drew an 11.3% target share last year, in free agency.

Chicago made no significant offseason additions to the pass-catching corps, only drafting WR Zavion Thomas and TE Sam Roush in Round 3. That leaves WR Luther Burden and TE Colston Loveland as Odunze’s primary target competition.

Odunze out-produced both guys on a per-game basis last year. But he trailed them in per-route efficiency.

Odunze could lead the 2026 Bears in targets. He could also finish third.

The good news is that this passing game should concentrate on those three guys.

Supporting Cast

QB Caleb Williams is back for his third NFL campaign. He improved from Year 1 to Year 2 and flashed an exciting ceiling at times last season. But he’ll need to improve further to unlock Odunze’s upside.

The Bears also have a couple of questions on the offensive line.

LT Ozzy Trapilo went down with a ruptured patellar tendon in last year’s Wild Card win over the Packers. That has him unlikely to be ready for the start of this season and leaves Braxton Jones, Theo Benedet, and Jedrick Wills competing for the starting job this summer.

The Bears also lost C Drew Dalman to retirement. He’s expected to be replaced by Garrett Bradbury, who was acquired from New England via trade in March. Bradbury started all 17 games for the Patriots last year but ranked just 21st among 36 qualifying centers in Pro Football Focus’ 2025 pass-blocking grades.

Chicago returns three 2025 starters in RT Darnell Wright, RG Jonah Jackson, and LG Joe Thuney. But this unit could take at least a slight step back this season.

Coaching & Offensive Scheme

HC Ben Johnson returns for Year 2 with the Bears. Chicago went from bottom-5 in points and yards in 2024 to top-9 in both categories under Johnson. That followed this three-year run in Detroit for Johnson:

Johnson has been a run-leaning play caller, with all four of his offenses finishing between 20th and 25th in neutral pass rate.

But he’s also landed all four of those offenses inside the top-14 in total plays, including top-2 finishes in 2024 and 2025. That’s helped each of Johnson’s teams rank in the top half of the league in pass attempts.

Here’s where his four offenses have finished in total WR PPR points:

• 2022: ninth
• 2023: sixth
• 2024: fourth
• 2025: 14th

Paths to Ceiling

Odunze played a fantasy-friendly role last season, with a high average target depth and strong red-zone usage. We saw the ceiling through the first four games, when he ranked third among WRs in fantasy points.

WR D.J. Moore’s departure frees up additional opportunity this season. Odunze could lead the 2026 Bears in targets and flirt with WR1-level fantasy production.

Risk Factors

The Williams-to-Odunze connection struggled for much of 2025. Odunze’s downfield role and Williams’ inconsistent accuracy could keep the production erratic this season.

Odunze will also need to fend off a pair of rising sophomores in Luther Burden and Colston Loveland. He could finish third on this team in targets and be a tough-to-trust WR3 in fantasy.

Lingering effects of last year’s broken foot also add risk.