With DJ Moore gone, Chicago's Rome Odunze has to break out in Year 3

The 2026 NFL season could be a ‘prove it’ year for Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze. The former Washington Husky will likely have a greater role in Chicago’s offense following the departure of fellow receiver DJ Moore, who was traded to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday.

With Moore gone, Odunze has a perfect opportunity to become WR1 in Chicago. However, that responsibility will come with pressure. If the former No. 9 overall draft pick can’t increase his production in 2026, his future with the Bears could be in jeopardy.

Could Rome Odunze finally separate in 2026?

Unlike most rookie receivers drafted in the top 10, Odunze began his career as a WR3. Chicago’s 2024 passing offense flowed primarily through Moore (98 catches, 966 yards, six touchdowns) and veteran Keenan Allen (70 catches, 744 yards, seven touchdowns). However, Odunze was always in the mix, and he finished with a respectable 54 catches for 734 yards and three touchdowns.

When Allen left in 2025, Odunze immediately increased his workload. Through 13 weeks, he led Bears pass-catchers in receptions, yards, and touchdowns with a 44-661-6 statline. Those numbers weren’t among the league’s best, but they are impressive in hindsight considering he’d been dealing with a stress fracture in his foot for most of the season.

Unfortunately for Odunze, that stress fracture flared up and caused him to miss the last five weeks of the regular season. As a result, he once again finished the season with Chicago’s third-most receptions and yards, this time behind Moore (50 for 682) and tight end Coulston Loveland (58 for 713).

He may have been slowed by injury in 2025, but Odunze simply hasn’t produced at the level one would expect from a top 10 draft pick. His yards-per-game average of 55.1 was only the NFL’s 37th-highest, and his projected 17-game total of 937 yards would only have ranked 22nd nationally.

The numbers are less than ideal elsewhere, too. Odunze had the worst reception-to-target ratio (44/90, 48.8%) among 10 Bears players who were targeted more than five times. Of the 82 NFL pass-catchers who had more receptions than Odunze in 2025, only Cleveland’s Jerry Jeudy (50/106, 47.2%) had a worse reception-to-target ratio. He has yet to tally eight receptions in a single pro game, and he’s scored only one touchdown in his last 10 appearances.

2026 could determine where Odunze’s future lies

Thankfully for Odunze, he has at least one more year to sell himself as Chicago’s X receiver of the future. Poor 2025 stats won’t impact his future much if he goes off for 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns in his third season as a Bear. A Pro-Bowl caliber statline in 2026 could be enough to convince Chicago’s front office that Odunze should get a second contract (or at least a fifth-year option) when his rookie deal expires in spring 2028.

On the other hand, a poor showing in 2026 could put the writing on the wall for Odunze’s time in Chicago. Teams that don’t get results through the first three years of a rookie’s contract aren’t easily won over by a strong fourth year, and it’s possible that Odunze’s fifth-year option goes above Chicago’s price range. It’s also possible that a lackluster or injury-shortened third season results in the Bears trading Odunze to at least get some value back for their first-round investment.

However, this offseason is too soon to write off Odunze, especially as he’s about to embark on his first season as Chicago’s WR1. And what happened last time Odunze was his team’s primary option? He led college football in receiving yards, scored 13 touchdowns, earned consensus All-American honors, and took his Huskies to a national championship game appearance. If Odunze can find similar form under rising superstar quarterback Caleb Williams, he could have a home in Chicago for a long, long time.