Odunze finished the game with four catches for 77 yards, increasing his season total to 51 catches for 701 yards and three touchdowns. He was also the star of the Bears’ last drive against the Packers on November 17, catching passes of 16 yards on third-and-19 and 21 yards on fourth-and-3 on consecutive plays.

“Rome was consistent from day one,” said interim coach Thomas Brown. “When he’s had the opportunity to make plays, the guy shows up all the time. They talk about critical moments: four-down calls, two-minute drives, one-on-one wins. He’s a separator, has really elite twitch.” He has good ball skills and is a very detailed route runner. I would say overall he was good.

Williams and Odunze continue to strengthen their close bond, which began in April. About a week before the draft, they hosted a throwing session in Los Angeles with Bears receivers DJ Moore and Keenan Allen. Williams and Odunze later traveled to Detroit on the same flight for the draft, where they were selected by the Bears with the first and ninth overall picks, respectively.

Williams is happy that he and Odunze started their NFL journey together.

“It was great to have a young man like Rome with me, a spectacular person, a spectacular player,” Williams said. “The opportunity to have him here and grow with him and our relationship over the years will be crucial for the team. Continuing that and continuing to grow will be really fun and really important. He’s going to get better, especially with the guys he’s had here this year, Rome with DJ and Keenan, two guys who have been doing this for a while. I think it helps him to be able to watch these guys and how they move and how they work.”

Odunze is equally excited about growing alongside Williams.

“From the moment you step on the field with a great player like him, you feel that confidence and I think you feed off of that and I think we do that well,” Odunze said. “But you have to go out and prove it on the field, and we have to continue to do that.”