Week 11 NFL Moneyline Underdogs
Mike Randle
Last Updated: 3/15/2024
Rome Odunze is fresh off a season of 1,640 receiving yards, tops in the NCAA and a Washington single-season record. This was his second straight 1,000-yard season, making him only the second Husky to accomplish this feat. His 92 receptions were the second most in Washington history and led the Pac-12. He had a career-high 13 receiving touchdowns in 2023, tied for second in the Pac-12. In four years, Odunze produced an impressive 3,272 yards and 24 touchdowns receiving.
Rome Odunze has the prototypical size to be an X receiver in the NFL, standing 6-foot-3, 201 pounds. This stout frame is for more than just show as he displays the strength and willingness to block in the run game and battle through contact in all areas of his game. This shines through at the catch point, where he is comfortable fighting through contact to take the ball away. We also see him battle through defenders who try to get their hands on him with ease. His ball-tracking ability is one of the best I have seen recently, he has a knack for finding the ball and adjusting perfectly to the location almost every time. When pairing this with his awareness and strength he is almost always open even if he doesn’t create significant separation. We have seen him display soft hands regularly while showing the ability to alter his hand position with little to no effect on his execution. Most impressively he manages to put himself into position to make circus catches look routine and shows off his body control in the process.
As a route runner, he leans on the less aggressive types of routes where his fluidity and speed can flourish. He eats up cushions quickly and will run by you if you get flat-footed, however, he doesn’t always create a ton of separation on the vertical routes. When asked to run a hard-breaking route he displays good enough technique to get open, but this is not his strength. Once the ball is in his hands, he shows flashes of an ability to create modest yards after the catch. Despite not being overly elusive he displays good vision and lateral movement to set up blocks and pick up a few extra yards.
- Ball tracking
- Physicality
- Body control
- Game speed
- Suddenness within routes
- CSC Academic All-America Team Member of the Year (2023)
- CSC Academic All-America First Team (2023)
- All-America First Team (AP, FWAA, PFF, CBS Sports, The Athletic) (2023)
- All-America Second Team (Walter Camp) (2023)
- All-Pac-12 First Team (2023)
- Midseason All-America First Team (AP) (2023)
- Midseason All-America Second Team (The Athletic) (2023)
- PFF All-Pac-12 First Team (2022)
- Pro Football Network All-Pac-12 First Team (2022)
- All-America Third Team (Associated Press, Pro Football Focus) (2022)
- All-America Fourth Team (Phil Steele) (2022)
- All-Pac-12 First Team (2022)
- All-Pac-12 First Team (Associated Press, Phil Steele) (2022)
- 40-yard dash: 4.45s
- 10-yard split: 1.52s
- Vertical: 39”
- Broad Jump: 10’4”
- Three-cone: 6.88s
- Shuttle: 4.03s
- Bench: TBD
- X receiver
Rome Odunze projects to become an alpha in a receiver room. He has proven he can handle a large target share and produce while at Washington. He will likely be selected in the first 10 picks of the NFL Draft and step into a significant target share, resulting in early consistent fantasy production. He possesses a WR1 ceiling while holding a safe WR2 floor if he lands into a situation that offers an early opportunity.
