Matt Eberfleus tabs Rome Odunze as mincamp’s most impressive player

It hasn’t taken long for Washington Huskies star Rome Odunze to impress his NFL peers.

Former Washington Huskies star Rome Odunze missed multiple weeks of Chicago Bears minicamp with hamstring tightness, but the time off didn’t seem to set him back at all. As the Bears host their mandatory minicamp, head coach Matt Eberfleus highlighted Odunze as the biggest standout from the workouts.

“Rome really impressed us in terms of his ability to grab concepts and really execute out there,” Eberfleus said following Thursday’s practice.

Odunze has been utilized with the first-team offense, where by all accounts he has already formed an exciting connection with No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams, but Eberfleus has also tried him out as a punt returner in an attempt to give the former All-American the ball in as many ways as possible.

He returned just 3 punts over his four seasons on Montlake but took one back for an 83-yard touchdown against the California Golden Bears.

One of the biggest additions Chicago made in the offseason was trading for wide receiver Keenan Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers. The 11-year veteran has been a guide for Odunze’s NFL transition on and off the field and told the media that he has been just as impressed as the coaching staff with the No. 9 overall pick.

“Rome looks great. He’s the guy who stepped in and he’s been with the [first-team] right off the bat,” Allen told the media. “He knows what he’s doing, his responsibilities, and that’s huge. First coming in, we haven’t even got to training camp, and he already knows where to go, where to line up, where to be at, so that’s huge.”