There is no debate as to who is the Chicago Bears’ No. 1 wide receiver this season. Rome Odunze has claimed that spot through the team's first seven games.
Odunze leads the Bears with his 31 receptions on 56 targets for 473 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Caleb Williams has established consistent chemistry with the second-year receiver and will often target him when plays break down for him in the pocket.
DJ Moore is second on the team with 26 catches on 38 targets for 331 yards and one touchdown. D'Andre Swift ranks behind Moore with 18 receptions on 24 targets for 192 yards and a score.
This connection between the top 10 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft has been a positive development in head coach Ben Johnson's offense, but one play in the Week 8 loss to the Baltimore Ravens has sparked some outside noise about potentially being too many targets heading in Odunze's direction.
Odunze defends Williams on where he's throwing the football
In the 30-16 loss to the Ravens, Williams was intercepted in the fourth quarter while trying to connect with Odunze. By the time the second-year quarterback threw the ball to his receiver, the window had closed. Rookie running back Kyle Monangai was open in the flat, which is where Johnson would have liked to see his quarterback go with the ball.
Odunze provided his thoughts on whether he thinks Williams is too locked in on specific receivers at times during his Thursday's open locker room session.
“I think Caleb is doing a great job going through his progression and his reads, you know?” Odunze said. “I've had a fair share of where I'm the No. 1 reads. I think all of the guys in the room have had their share and I've been on the receiving end of a lot of those first-read plays on some of those. I don't think that's something that Caleb does often. He goes through his progression and plays ball.”
Before Odunze shared his opinion on Williams’ ball distribution, offensive coordinator Declan Doyle mentioned a similar response as the team's No. 1 receiver.
“I don’t think you need to caution against anything,” Doyle said. “I think it’s always: If Rome is first in the progression, that’s who we need to be looking at. If Rome is late in the progression, then your eyes need to be on one and progress to two and three. We kind of let the plays take care of themselves as far as that goes. But I don’t think anytime your quarterback and a player have good chemistry, I don’t think that's a bad thing. We encourage that.”
As long as Odunze continues to create separation while he is the first read in an offensive play, Williams is going to give him the football. The interception against the Ravens was simply a throw Williams would like to have back.
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But the early chemistry Williams and Odunze established in Year 2 is a good sign for what the young players can continue to build as they still learn the nuance of Johnson's offense.