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Odunze

Odunze heads into the postseason with his two lowest yardage totals since September. Whereas players like Brian Thomas Jr. and Brock Bowers have blown up as fellow rookies, No. 9 overall pick Odunze could not outrun his admittedly dreary circumstances. He exceeded 50 yards only once across his final seven appearances, and let himself get lapped by veteran target commanders DJ Moore and Keenan Allen for looks. It didn’t help matters, of course, that fellow lottery pick rookie Caleb Williams spent most of the year struggling, getting hammered for sacks. That biased the Bears’ passing attack in favor of Moore and Allen’s short-area prowess. It will still be a problem for boundary man Odunze in 2025, as it’s not like Williams’ game will get entirely remade overnight. Allen is at least headed to free agency. Despite this year’s disappointing statline (54/734/3), 22-year-old Odunze still has plenty of upside and should be considered a top-36 option with room to grow for 2025.

Odunze took the first two days off this week before practicing in full on Friday. The 2024 first-round pick has been effectively unusable in fantasy for three straight weeks but he had a decent showing when these teams faced each other back in Week 11, catching 6-of-10 targets for 65 yards. Odunze is a volatile WR4 for the occasion.

After being listed as an estimated DNP on Wednesday, Odunze was a DNP on Thursday due to an illness. We don’t often see players miss games due to illnesses, so we’ll see where things stand on Friday when the team releases its final report. Odunze has caught 52 passes for 716 yards and three touchdowns in his rookie campaign and will look to end the season on a high note against the Packers if he’s active.

Odunze broke loose for what would have been a touchdown connection on a throw from Caleb Williams, but the score was wiped out on a blatant holding penalty. Odunze didn’t pick up his first catch in the game until the final drive on a day where neither team could throw or pass or do anything but punt. Odunze will hope to finish his rookie year on a strong note in Week 18 against the Packers.

Per usual, Odunze was used mostly as a deep threat in this game. He averaged 19.3 yards per catch on the back of multiple chunk gains but finished third on the team in targets. Odunze earned a modest 18 percent target share. Week 16’s 77 yards were his highest since Week 9. Odunze sees a few deep shots every week, but his connection with Caleb Williams is still a work in progress. His volatile profile has him in the WR4 ranks heading into a date with the Seahawks.

Worse, he dropped one of Caleb Williams’ few great throws on the day, a rocket over the middle on second down that would have been a touchdown. It thudded harmlessly away after catching part of Odunze’s helmet. Odunze did not follow up last week’s two-touchdown breakout with real success and is now three weeks removed from his last 10-target game. He’s a viable FLEX play, but is down the pecking order compared to Keenan Allen and D.J. Moore.

Odunze failed to earn a single target in the first half but made up for lost time in the second, securing both of Caleb Williams’ Week 14 touchdowns. The full-game results fail to inspire but Williams’ decision to turn to Odunze while in come-back mode could pay off down the stretch. Odunze is an intriguing flex option against the Vikings in Week 15.

Coming off back-to-back ten-target outings, Odunze saw his target volume take a bit of a dip in Thursday’s loss to the Bears. While six targets is nothing to balk at, there’s little fantasy upside to be had when you turn those looks into just two catches and 25 yards. Odunze was on the field plenty, as his 44 routes run, per PFF was just one less than Keenan Allen and three fewer than DJ Moore. Hopefully there will be better things in store for the rookie in Week 14’s game against the 49ers, where he can be treated as a WR4.

Odunze saw 10 targets for the second week in a row but did even less with the high-volume role this time around. He went 65 yards on six grabs versus the Packers in Week 11. The Bears have shifted toward a quick passing game with more screens and short throws under interim OC Thomas Brown. Though that hasn’t killed Odunze’s volume, it has prevented him from hitting a spike week in a sample of two games. Odunze is stuck in the WR4 ranks for his upcoming matchup with the Lions.

It was Odunze’s highest target total since Week 3, and he was agonizingly close to doing more. A sideline pass from Caleb Williams glanced off his fingertips, and as the Bears had to throw later in the game, Odunze was clearly their No. 1 target. He’ll be a WR4/FLEX play against the Vikings next week as the Bears figure to struggle throwing the ball in that one, but the target story is looking better for him.