Rome Odunze is next up in our pass catchers draft profiles as an almost lock to be the third wide receiver taken on draft night. He isn’t quite as good as Harrison Jr. or Nabers at this point, but is still a very high level prospect with a ton of upside. He has the ability to become a legitimate WR1 in the NFL. He might struggle in his first season as he refines the details of his game, but there’s some incredible potential within him.
Rome Odunze – WR, Washington
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 212 lbs
Year: Junior
Age: 21.8
NFL Player Comparison: Floor of Michael Floyd with Davante Adams potential
It’s hard to hate on Rome Odunze. He has ideal size, is a former successful track athlete, a leader in the locker room, and one of the most determined receivers in the entire draft. Odunze was the top receiver to participate in all the drills at the combine and reportedly re-ran the 3-cone drill for almost an hour on his own after initially not reaching his ideal score. His dedication and competitiveness will be key factors into his successful NFL career – he just refuses to be beaten. He’s also shown (to an extreme degree) that he has the willingness and ability to play through pain. In September of 2023 he suffered a broken rib and a punctured lung while recovering an onside kick, but still didn’t miss any time for the Huskies. He’s the definition of a gamer and as scouts love to say, “has that dog in him.”
Odunze has all the desirable measurables and is a high level pass catcher as evidenced by his extremely low drop rate (only three drops on 140 targets last season). He has a big, muscular frame and very strong hands. He has high level start-stop ability and can absolutely fool defenders with his curl route as a result.
His acceleration from his track days allows him to create good separation off of the line of scrimmage meaning he can be a true deep threat weapon, and can track down deep balls in the open field like a high level centre fielder. He’s able to create separation at the point of catch on deep balls with his body control and some subtle bumps and push offs, both of which are even more likely to go unnoticed at the NFL level. Odunze will also make defenders pay after the catch as he’ll willingly run through arm tackles, and has shown an ability to be used in the screen game. He has a good feel for reading zones and will patiently use his blockers as he navigates his way through traffic to pick up chunks of yards.
Odunze might also be amongst the best in this class as a red zone receiver. His ability to fight through contact along with his length gives him a chance to win on almost any contested catch, and he has an ingrained ability to box out defenders and use his length to make full extension grabs. He projects to be a high level touchdown producer for the majority of his career as he’ll quickly become a first look option when the field shortens up.
Of course, no prospect is perfect. If Odunze is to break out in the NFL, he needs to develop his route running, particularly at the release point. Despite his size and strength, he tends to get hung up at the line of scrimmage fighting off defenders too often which obviously can throw the entire route out of sync. He’ll also need to refine his footwork at the peak of his routes. The former Husky has a tendency to be uncertain how he wants to juke an opponent and often just runs straight into defenders instead of making a proper football move to break away.
Odunze has the potential to be very, very good. He was the primary target at Washington that will likely have two more receivers drafted this year (Ja’Lynn Polk and Jalen McMillan) in Ryan Grubb’s spread scheme offence. An offence that’s very transferable to the NFL which helped Grubb land an offensive coordinator job with the Seattle Seahawks. Odunze’s production has improved each year since he joined the Huskies, culminating with a FBS best 1,640 receiving yards in 2023 in an All-American campaign. He’s an above average in size and weight as a prospect and has shown the dedication and desire to become an elite level player. Pair that with his pass catching instincts and red zone ability, and he can become a very high level X receiver at the next level.
-Devon Gallant
Twitter: @DevGallant
Photo: Bobak Ha’Eri. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.