Rome Odunze: Everything you need to know

Odunze and Luther Burden are Chicago's unquestioned top WRs after the team traded DJ Moore to Buffalo, Patrick Finley of The Chicago Sun-Times reports. Moore might've only been the No. 3 receiver anyway if he'd returned to Chicago, after plummeting to a 16.0 percent target rate in 2025 while easily leading the team in routes run (512). The Bears also lost WR Oladime Zaccheaus (305 routes), who is signing with Atlanta. There's plenty of time to add competition behind Odunze and Burden, but it does seem clear that those two and TE Colston Loveland will lead the team in targets in 2026 if they stay relatively healthy. Odunze said in January that he didn't anticipate needing surgery for the foot injury that cost him five games at the end of the regular season (he returned for two postseason games, posting 2-44-0 receiving lines in both). He failed to maintain a hot start in 2025, his second pro season, but there were still some promising signs overall, including a 24.4 percent rate and six TDs in 12 regular-season games. Odunze, Burden and Loveland are all popular fantasy breakout candidates for 2026.

Odunze said Monday that he will not require surgery this offseason to address the foot injury that forced him to miss the final five games of the regular season, Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Odunze retook the field for both of Chicago's postseason contests, managing an identical 2-44-0 receiving line on six targets in each game, though he was initially listed as questionable for both the wild card round and divisional round. Across 12 regular-season appearances, the 2024 first-round pick secured 44 of 90 targets for 661 yards and six touchdowns, with injuries seemingly hampering his ability to emerge as a true leader in a Bears pass-catching corps that also features wideouts DJ Moore and Luther Burden, as well as tight ends Colston Loveland (concussion) and Cole Kmet, all of whom remain under contract for 2026.

Odunze (foot) had two receptions on six targets for 44 yards in Sunday's 20-17 overtime playoff loss to the Rams. Odunze interestingly managed to duplicate his receiving line from last week's wild-card round win over the Packers (2-44-0 on six targets). Unlike last week, the Bears were unable to clutch out a victory against the Rams, bringing the team's 2025 campaign to a close. The 2024 first-round pick wound up missing the final five games of the regular season due to a foot injury, finishing his sophomore campaign with a 44-661-6 receiving line across 12 starts. Odunze was likely playing through that same injury in his two postseason appearances, so fantasy managers shouldn't scrutinize those performances when evaluating the talent for the 2026 season.