So far in the offseason, most of the buzz with the Chicago Bears' offense has been focused on second-year wide receiver Luther Burden III.
Burden has been named multiple times as a breakout candidate on the Bears for 2026, with head coach Ben Johnson even buying into the hype that is surrounding his young receiver. Another player on the offense whom more Bears fans should be keeping an eye on for a big year is wide receiver Rome Odunze.
The Athletic's Bears reporter, Kevin Fishbain, hit the airwaves in Chicago, where he discussed Odunze's upcoming 2026 season. Fishbain made it a point to talk about how big of a season it is for him.
"This is a huge year for him," Fishbain said via 104.3 The Score. "I think if you look at his numbers before he got hurt, you can get excited as a Bears fan of like, okay, this guy's healthy and he gets another full offseason, and he knows what's at stake. You know, you can see what, what he could be because I just, I just got to, I got to imagine that that injury really hampered him so much. He misses those games. He comes back late. But yeah, I mean, we know the talent is there. We saw it as a rookie. We saw it at the beginning of last season. And look, for Rome Odunze and Caleb Williams, you can start talking contract extension after this year. I'm not sure how much it's on their minds, but it's something that we could talk about. That's why it's so important for those guys to have big seasons so they can put themselves in those conversations. To be able to get that done."
Rome Odunze must have a strong season for the Bears in 2026
Odunze got off to a decent start in his NFL career back in 2024, when he caught 54 passes for 734 yards and three touchdowns. He proved that he and Caleb Williams can make for a solid QB-WR combo in the future.
Last season saw a shift as Odunze got off to a fast start, with two 100-yard games and four touchdowns, pacing for his first career 1,000-yard season. His foot injury completely upended his season as he tried to fight through it, but it affected his play, so he sat out the last month of the year before the playoffs. Odunze finished the season with 44 receptions for 661 yards and tied for the team lead with six touchdowns.
The big difference in Odunze's game in 2025 compared to 2024 was that he created more explosive plays and gained more yards per catch. He increased that average last year as he went from 13.6 per game in his rookie season to 15 yards per catch in 2025.
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There's arguably more pressure on Odunze to step up and show that he can be a WR1 in the NFL, as Burden might end up being that guy, so there is going to be some interesting situations at wide receiver with Odunze in 2026.
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