Fantasy Football 2024: Rome Odunze gets selected No. 9 overall, gives Chicago Bears one of the best receiver rooms in NFL

• Don’t sleep on Rome Odunze: While Odunze was the third receiver picked in this draft, he would have been the top prospect in some other recent classes.

• The Chicago Bears give Caleb Williams another weapon: Chicago added D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen in the last two offseasons, and now Rome Odunze gives them a top-tier wide receiver trio.

• Check in on the PFF Fantasy live draft blog: Reactions and conversations around each pick as they happen.

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Rome Odunze fell to the Chicago Bears with the ninth overall pick, giving them one of the best receiving rooms in the league. While this is excellent news for Caleb Williams and Bears fans, this isn’t ideal for Odunze’s short-term fantasy value because there are so many targets to go around. Longer term, he has the chance to be the favorite target for a potential elite quarterback in a few years.

What Rome Odunze brings to the table

Odunze should make several big plays in his first year. Our draft guide calls him a super-sized Chris Olave, and he is the best contested-catch receiver in the class. Over the last two seasons, no wide receiver in college football had more deep targets or deep receiving yards. He projects to be an outside wide receiver who should make big plays in his first year.

Rome Odunze’s career college metrics and ranks:

What being drafted by the Chicago Bears means for Rome Odunze

He should consistently be on the field in three-receiver sets, and the talented veteran receivers should take the pressure off Odunze, but there aren’t enough targets to go around. D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen are two of the eight wide receivers with at least 500 targets over the last four seasons, and both were already looking at a decline in targets before Odunze’s arrival. One bright note is that while the Bears were among the most run-heavy teams last season, new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron should be more pass-happy.

Chicago Bears 2023 stats and ranks (Weeks 1-17):

Fantasy football outlook

In dynasty leagues, Odunze should be a top-10 pick despite the potential low first-year value. In re-draft leagues, he should still be drafted like a high-end backup because the upside is there for him to overcome the competition for targets.