During the NFL draft process, one of the many NFL stars that All-American Washington Huskies wide receiver Rome Odunze drew comparisons to was six-time Pro Bowler Keenan Allen.
Allen, who racked up over 10,000 receiving yards across 11 seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers, was traded to the Chicago Bears during the offseason where now, he can help mentor Odunze, who general manager Ryan Poles selected with the No. 9 overall pick.
According to Allen, Odunze might not need that much help on his path to stardom and is more developed than when the 32-year-old entered the league in 2013.
“He’s a little bit better than me when I came in,” Allen said. “He’s faster, I think he comes out of his breaks better than I did when I was that young. He looks more polished than I was as a receiver. I was only on year two as a receiver coming into the NFL.”
Combined with All-Pro receiver D.J. Moore, the Bears are expected to have one of the best trios of pass catchers in the league this season, which should make life a little easier on the No. 1 overall pick, quarterback Caleb Williams.
Odunze has been just as impressive off the field ahead of his first NFL campaign, and appears to have picked up the playbook quickly, which could make him one of the top targets for the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner early on in his career.
Keenan Allen just said Rome Odunze is better than he was when he came into the League.
faster, gets out of his breaks better pic.twitter.com/m4dcr2MJFm
— Sadeek đȘ (@SadeekNextWave) July 20, 2024