Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze feeling more confident the second time around

Life in the NFL has started to slow down for Rome Odunze.

It can sometimes feel like a blur, especially for a rookie like Odunze whom the Bears selected in the first round of last year’s draft. But with a year of experience paired with an offseason of preparation, Odunze feels comfortable heading into his second season.

“I feel great,” Odunze told reporters Thursday on the last day of mandatory minicamp. “I feel like I’ve taken that time in the offseason up until, up from when we finished playing, up until this point to kind of dial in on what I feel like I need my physicality and body type to be to play at this level at a high level. And I think I’ve continued to make strides in that aspect, whether that’s strength, upper body, all those different things, I feel like I’ve made strides.”

That’s something the Bears are happy to hear about the wide receiver whom general manager Ryan Poles selected at No. 10 last year. Odunze showed glimpses of his talent during last season. But there were also moments last season where Odunze got lost in the shuffle.

Odunze finished third on the team in most receiving categories last season. He caught 54 passes for 734 yards off 101 targets. Odunze also caught three touchdown passes, which ranked fourth on the team.

In order to compete with life in the NFL, Odunze used what he learned during the season to improve his game over the offseason. He turned fat into lean muscle in order to keep up with the professional game’s physicality. Odunze said the added strength will help him win hand-fighting battles as well as positioning himself well at the top of routes and 50-50 throws.

Odunze also feels up to speed when it comes to the speed of the game.

“Having a full season under my belt, I feel like I’m aware of those things and I can now play the game freely in a way, knowing exactly where I need to be when I need to be there,” Odunze said. “I just need to cater it to this offense and quarterback and chemistry within there.”

Bears head coach Ben Johnson said he’s seen that growth from Odunze in the limited time they’ve spent together this offseason. Johnson has praised Odunze, who was named rookie recipient of the Brian Piccolo award for last season, for much of the offseason for the maturity he’s shown at a young age.

Although Johnson said Odunze is still learning, he was confident to see more growth once training camp starts next month.

“I’m extremely impressed,” Johnson said. “To be a second-year guy, you would expect a little bit more inconsistency. And yet, the way he approaches the meeting room, the walk-throughs, the on-field, the drill work, it’s very much like a seasoned pro, some of the best that I’ve been around.”

What that growth will look like remains to be seen. The Bears used Odunze at different spots during offseason practices as Johnson and his staff tried to get a gauge of what each player can do and how Johnson can use them.

But Odunze was excited to be a part of Johnson’s offense, whatever his role is.

“I mean, this is an explosive offense,” Odunze said. “I think Ben and the crew have great offensive minds. So I feel like they can help put me in positions to succeed. That’s all I can ask for. At the end of the day, I have to go out there and make the plays and get the job done regardless.”

Practice highlights:

The final day of minicamp had mixed results for quarterback Caleb Williams and the first-team offense as the Bears continued running through different situations Thursday.

The offense ran through an 11-on-11 situation where it trailed 23-14 with 3:50 left in the game. Williams completed a couple of long passes off scrambles to Olamide Zaccheaus and Odunze to move the ball down the field. He eventually found running back D’Andre Swift for a 15-yard touchdown to make it a 2-point game.

The Bears coaches positioned the offense at its own 25 with 1:07 left in the game to try to kick the game-winning field goal or score a touchdown. Williams completed another big play off a scramble to Odunze but then threw an interception to Tyrique Stevenson to end the situation.

“There was a lot of really, really good teaching tape today,” Johnson said. “Really good teaching tape. And so we’re not ready for prime time yet. I think that was loud and clear over the last three weeks of play. But that’s to be expected as well. We knew that was going to happen. We’ll look to take advantage of training camp to tighten the screws up and be ready to go Week 1.”

Off for the summer:

Thursday was the final day of a three-day mandatory minicamp and the Bears had some fun on the last day. They had offensive linemen catching passes and wide receivers throwing them in order for Johnson to see who could do what.

The Bears will host one more week of organized team activities next week before leaving for the summer. Johnson said younger players will take part in practices next week. Odunze confirmed that he would be OTAs next week.

While Johnson didn’t feel the Bears were ready for prime time just yet, he was happy with what his team accomplished during the offseason.

“We felt pretty good about what we were able to accomplish,” Johnson said. “The onus is on our players now to take advantage of the next six weeks. They’ve built a lot of good work with their bodies conditioning-wise, they’re strong, we’ve got a number of guys that lost fat mass and gained lean mass and are in great shape right now. We got to continue that trend, not just to maintain but keep pushing that a little bit further. For us, training camp’s not a get-in-shape camp, it’s show-up-in-shape camp so we can become a good football team.”