On Sunday, Rome Odunze’s was one of those performances that was almost more relieving than exciting. At least for me it was, but I’m biased—there might not be a rookie in the league, short of Ladd McConkey, I’m more excited about than Rome. And we finally saw almost all he can do in Week 3.
He finished with six receptions for 112 yards and one touchdown on 11 targets (we love the targets!); he also had one carry for 11 yards. If you were worried about a guy’s knee, are you getting him the ball behind the line of scrimmage? No.
And we were indeed worried about Odunze’s knee for at least a week-and-a-half. He felt a pop in his knee when he was blocking on a running play in Week 1 against the Titans. Word before last week, from Odunze himself, was that doctors had assured him his knee was structurally sound and wouldn’t be a threat for any serious aggravation.
What with the confluence of a clean bill of health and breakout performance (albeit in a game when the Bears were so far down that all Caleb Williams could do was throw), I’ll offer you my thoughts on how to proceed with Odunze going forward in season-long fantasy and DFS.
Offseason breakdown
Just in case you missed it, here was my breakdown of Odunze’s rookie profile when I called him a league-winner in this column back in August.
Odunze’s over-the-top prolific career at the University of Washington is an incredible resumé to behold. Especially his 2023: he led the FBS in receiving yards with a whopping 1,640. He also registered 21 catches on deep throws (targets with 20+ air yards), and hauled in 24 contested catches—both FBS-bests as well.
The ceiling is stratospherically high, here. Odunze’s build grades similarly to Ja’Marr Chase’s. He’s 6’3″, 212 pounds—so we know he’s physical at the line and at the point of a catch. He grades in the 94th percentile in speed score for all rookies and 97th for catch radius. Still, with all that size and speed, Odunze cleared the 86th percentile for his agility score.
The upside is just too good. It also could just flat out be a ton of fun. He will soon be the top receiver in this offense, and it could happen this season. His rapport with Caleb Williams is apparent.
If you’re getting Odunze as your WR4, which you are at this price, you’re getting an absolute steal. I have him as my WR32, over guys like Keenan Allen, Jayden Reed, and Xavier Worthy.
Thus far, I’ve been quite wrong about ranking him over Reed. But I’d still take him over Worthy in PPR.
Odunze’s physical prowess was obviously hindered in the first two weeks by his knee issue, but his overall performance in Week 3—and his encouraging practice participation this week before his Week 4 matchup—is nothing short of overwhelmingly encouraging.
Week 4 (and beyond) outlook
Odunze and the Bears face off against the Los Angeles Rams at home this week. Thus far, the Rams’ secondary has been utterly exposed by the likes of Jared Goff, Kyler Murray, and Brock Purdy. All of those teams had better plans and personnel in place to combat a pass rush than whatever we’ve seen out of the Bears this year. Front-sevens are eating Caleb Williams for lunch.
Having said that, the Rams pass-rushers, like Jared Verse, are young and aren’t always converting clean tackles. We could see that with Williams, here. He is elusive, and Rome Odunze will likely be somewhere downfield for Caleb to locate.
My general feeling about Odunze’s fantasy outlook in Week 4 is: We’re going to get a great sense of just how much Williams trusts Odunze in this one. If Odunze somehow outperforms D.J. Moore this week, I think the buy-low window on Rome has officially closed.
Beyond that? We are incredibly encouraged that, despite a mixed-bag beginning to the season, Odunze is sixth in the league in air yards. The opportunities are there, and they’ll continue to be.
I can see wanting to sit him this week, but I’m rolling him out there. I called him a league-winner! The matchup is juicy! I have to put my money where my mouth is.
All roads lead to etc. He’s a league-winner. I promise.
Verdict: Trade for him now, and don’t sleep on his DFS value in Week 4.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is thegreatdansby9) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
