A little over a year ago, Rome Odunze was playing for the Washington Huskies as his team went into the LA Coliseum and beat the Caleb Williams-led USC Trojans 52-42 to remain undefeated.
Now, the pair are teammates with the Chicago Bears after general manager Ryan Poles used a pair of top-ten picks in April’s NFL draft to revamp what has been one of the league’s worst offenses for the last handful of years. However, the NFC North has turned into arguably the league’s toughest division, and due to a variety of factors, the most glaring of which has been poor play calling, that offensive breakout hasn’t happened yet.
Odunze leads the Bears with 479 receiving yards, but as the Bears sit in last in their division with a 4-6 record, fans are still waiting for Chicago to turn into the offensive juggernaut they were expected to.
Through all the hardships the Bears have faced, including speculation of Williams being benched for backup quarterback Tyson Bagent, Odunze is remaining positive about his future and his relationship with the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner.
“At the end of the day, he’s the one throwing me the ball, so our connection is everything,” Odunze told members of the media on Wednesday. “Building that chemistry [is important]. I can’t have great games without him, and hopefully, he can’t have great games without me. He’s doing his thing back there, and when he has that trust in belief in me, it’s something that gives me confidence to go out there and play freely and fast.”
Williams also took some time at his weekly press conference to discuss the connection he’s built with the former Husky star.
“Hanging out, playing video games, communicating, coming in at the same time and learning all of this together and helping each other throughout this time; being able to have all of those little moments, when those big moments happen, you have an idea and trust and belief that you’re on the same page. Right then and there, it showed up,” he said of turning to Odunze twice in key situations on their final drive during Sunday’s 20-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
As their connection continues to grow, the one-time Pac-12 stars look like they could be one of the league’s best quarterback/wide receiver combinations.