Should I Start Rome Odunze?

Thursday, July 30, 4:36 PM

Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze (foot) made comments back in June about his injured foot being the "new normal," which led many to believe he'd never be the WR the team envisioned he'd be when they took him ninth overall in 2024 from the University of Washington. The 24-year-old third-year wideout clarified his "new normal" comments from earlier in the offseason by saying on Thursday that "wasn't really what he meant." What he meant was that he was injured last year, suffering a stress fracture in his foot that limited him in the second half. Odunze had 20 catches for 296 yards and five touchdowns through the first four weeks before catching 24 passes for 365 yards and one TD in the final eight regular-season games. He said his "foot feels great" and "amazing" now and that his foot issue from a year ago isn't a "chronic" injury. Fantasy managers shouldn't be avoiding Odunze in upcoming drafts, especially with DJ Moore now in Buffalo. All the offseason hype has been on second-year wideout Luther Burden III, potentially making Odunze an excellent value pick with WR2 upside in 2026.