Everyone knew the Chicago Bears were going to take USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick of the NFL Draft. That was common knowledge.
What the Bears were going to do at No. 9, however, was much more debatable.
Of course, Chicago ended up selecting University of Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze with the ninth pick, which didn’t come as much of a surprise. Many mock drafts had the Bears grabbing Odunze.
But there was no guarantee, as some felt Chicago could take a defensive player or even draft an offensive lineman to provide some more protection for Williams.
In the mind of general manager Ryan Poles, however, there was never any doubt that the Bears were going to snare Odunze so long as he was available.
“Rome was at the top of our list,” Poles said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “We have our draft board kind of separated by different colors, and there’s certain guys you don’t pass up on. And Rome’s one of them. It’s hard to find a guy that is that big and that talented at the receiver spot and on top of that being an unbelievable human being, as well. So, there was no moving off Rome at all.”
It’s not like the Bears badly needed another weapon.
They already had DJ Moore, and they swung a trade with the Los Angeles Chargers to acquire Keenan Allen earlier this offseason. Not only that, but Chicago has Cole Kmet and recent addition Gerald Everett at tight end, and it also signed running back D’Andre Swift in free agency.
That was why some were wondering if the Bears would take Odunze, as the wide receiver position clearly was not a pressing need for the club.
But evidently, Poles and Co. felt that Odunze was special enough to warrant adding yet another wide out to its ever-growing stable of pass-catchers.
Odunze will likely be Chicago’s No. 3 receiver in 2024, so we will see how he produces in that role next season.
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