NFL, Read

NFL Draft Profile: Rome Odunze

Posted on by PJ Moran in NFL, Read

School: Washington

Position: WR

Year: Senior

The Good: Rome Odunze might not have played his college ball in the SEC, nor is he the direct descendant of a Pro Football Hall of Famer, but he is likely the most complete wide receiver in this NFL Draft – and the last few years’ worth of draft classes, for that matter. Odunze is a true 6’3, 215lb wideout who’s also a freaking elite athlete – and that athleticism is directly translatable to the field. His size is, too; Odunze usually either brakes the first tackle attempt or at a minimum falls forward. Odunze’s route running has no business being as crisp as it is for his size, and he matches his precision with the physicality to continue routes through contact. Odunze has nasty releases all over his tape – especially near goal line – very loose hips, changes directly well, and has subtle jabs in his bag to get separation against man coverage. Odunze is a natural and nuanced zone attacker, too.

Odunze is a contested catch god; his ball skills are truly as dominant as you’ll ever see from a college wideout. He boxes out defenders with ease, and from there, Odunze has tremendous hands – both fast and strong – with a very large catch radius to go along with his mitts. He can get way up with his jumps, and the timing of his jumps is consistently perfect. Once the ball is in Odunze’s hands, he has great burst; he can really get the ball and go.

The Bad: There isn’t much to write about here; like I said earlier, Odunze is likely the most complete WR prospect in this class. Odunze could improve with some of the finer elements of wide receiver play; i.e., mixing up tempos, showing urgency in route timing when it is needed, etc. (That lack of technical perfection is what could place him slightly behind Marvin Harrison Jr in rankings.) Like Harrison, Odunze isn’t a scary YAC threat; he has size and speed, but he’s not particularly elusive. Odunze can win at all three levels – see his awesome 50-yard, over-the-shoulder grab against Texas in the Sugar Bowl – but the deeper third of the field is where he can still get better due to some difficulties with downfield ball tracking – see the brutal miscommunication on a blown coverage against Michigan in the National Championship Game. Smaller stuff, but occasional drops and slips will happen for Odunze right out of his breaks, as will bigger cornerbacks occasionally having some success in slowing him down out of press coverage. 

The Bottom Line: I mean, the NFL Draft community has largely come around on Odunze over the past few weeks – he’s Top 10 in every mock draft now – but it’s still not enough, in my opinion. This kid has everything, and he’s got the right mentality and toughness on the field for an NFL WR1 too. If his Combine shattering athletic testing wasn’t enough, just look at Odunze’s 2023 game log and marvel at his production. As if a 92 rec/1,677 yard/15 TD stat line on the season wasn’t enough, Odunze had ONE game across 15 contests with less than 5 receptions, and ONE game with less than 82 yards.

His consistency is all-time stuff, and that extended all the way through the National Championship Game, where he was excellent vs. Michigan and future Round 1 cornerback Will Johnson. He was somehow even more impressive than those stats imply, since he drew so many holding and pass interference calls and split target share with Ja’Lynn Polk and Jalen McMillan. And if you’re of the opinion that Odunze is more of a bankable producer than a game-wrecker, go watch his tape vs. Michigan State and try telling me that again. Rome Odunze was a Round 1 prospect following his 2022 junior season and then leveled up in 2023 to arguably the best player in college football. There’s no ceiling on this guy, and teams should be tripping over themselves to nab him in this NFL Draft.

Grade: Top 5 Pick

Pro Comp: Larry Fitzgerald

Games Watched:

  • Kent State 2022
  • Stanford 2022
  • UCLA 2022
  • Oregon State 2022
  • Texas 2022
  • Boise State 2023
  • Tulsa 2023
  • Michigan State 2023
  • Oregon 2023
  • Arizona State 2023
  • USC 2023
  • Utah 2023
  • Washington State 2023
  • Texas 2023 (CFP Semifinal)
  • Michigan 2023 (CFP Final)

Plays That Matter [LINK]

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