Ryan Poles: Rome Odunze was 'at the top of our list'

The Chicago Bears retooled their offense in the 2024 NFL Draft, adding former USC star quarterback Caleb Williams and former Washington star receiver Rome Odunze with their two top-10 picks.

Williams, who went No. 1 overall, made it known before the draft that he was hoping to team up with Odunze. However, Bears General Manager Ryan Poles insists that Chicago was already high on Odunze, even before Williams spoke out.

Chicago was interested in moving back in the draft, but when Odunze was there at No. 9, the Bears couldn’t pass on him.

“Yea, Rome was at the top of our list,” Ryan Poles said on The Pat McAfee Show. “We have our draft board kind of separated by different colors, and there’s certain guys you don’t pass up on, and Rome was one of them.”

It’s easy to see why the Bears love Odunze. The Biletnikoff Award finalist set a Washington school record with 1,640 receiving yards last season. He was named an All-American after helping the Huskies to the national title game.

Odunze is 6-foot-3, 212 pounds and runs a 4.45 40-yard dash.

“It’s hard to find a guy that is that big and that talented at the receiver spot,” Poles said. “And on top of that, being an unbelievable human being, as well. So there was no movement off of Rome, at all.”

New Chicago Bears WR Rome Odunze: I already hate the Packers

Rome Odunze is quickly becoming a fan favorite in Chicago.

While appearing on the Talk 2 Me Show, the former Washington Huskies wide receiver talked about his first day hating the Bears’ arch-rival.

“First day hating the Packers, I already can’t stand them,” Odunze said. “Every time I see Green, I nearly puke.”

Not long after being drafted, Odunze shared his excitement about playing in Chicago. It’s a place he was always interested in ending up.

“I definitely had the mindset to be happy wherever I went, but in the back of my mind [I knew] the Bears visit went tremendously well,” Odunze said, per the Bears’ official website. “I came into this facility and the attitude and the effort that they put into my visit and into the conversations that we had was incredible. I knew when that phone call came in, it was from Illinois and that it was going to be the Bears, and I was super excited.”

The 21-year-old receiver also talked about playing with Williams.

“Very special and a very unique skill set,” he said. “When you watch him play, there are things he can do on the field you don’t see any other quarterback doing. He brings a unique skill set. He’s very confident in the pocket, very confident extending a play, and the play is never over until the whistle is blown, you know that.”