“He matches my energy level,” Walker said. “I like that about him. He’s just a really good leader for our room.”

“When the helmet’s on, he’s different,” said cornerback Jaylon Johnson. “He’ll talk a little, but it’s more like this calm confidence. You can’t rattle him.”

That mental toughness has roots deeper than football. In high school, Odunze lost a close friend to gun violence — a tragedy that shaped his outlook on life and sport.

“After that, I just stopped taking anything for granted,” he said. “Every rep, every snap — I treat it like a gift.”

That mindset shows in how he handles adversity. In his rookie year, after dropping a potential touchdown against Detroit, Odunze stayed on the field alone for twenty minutes, catching passes from the JUGS machine under stadium lights.

“He didn’t say a word,” said a team staffer. “He just caught ball after ball until everyone was gone. That’s who he is.”

When ESPN ran its feature “Rome Odunze Breaking Out in Year 2,” it wasn’t just another highlight reel. It was a statement — that the league had finally taken notice.

The segment opened with an image of Odunze stretching pregame, eyes closed, mouthing words to himself. “Focus,” he whispered. “Just play free.”

Then came the montage — fingertip catches, sideline toe-taps, fearless slants through traffic. The voiceover said what Chicago fans had been feeling: “The Bears may have finally found their next great wide receiver — and he’s just getting started.”

Becoming the leader meant learning how to deal with frustrations early in his career. Odunze’s best game as a rookie came in Week 3, a 21-16 loss to the Indianapolis Colts when Williams targeted him 11 times. Odunze finished with six catches for 112 yards and his first NFL touchdown, a ball he said he split with Williams as it also marked the quarterback’s first TD pass.

But as the Bears offense struggled to find direction under two playcallers last year, Odunze’s production tapered off. The 6-foot-3, 214-pound receiver finished with fewer than 42 receiving yards in 13 games, a far cry from the type of production he put up during Washington’s national championship run when he led all FBS receivers in receiving and finished top 10 the season before that.

Odunze internalized his on-field struggles last year and kept a positive outlook. His father, James, however, took to social media on more than one occasion to express his own frustrations, once correcting an account that claimed Odunze would have “1,110 yards on any other NFC North team.”

James Odunze believed the number was too low and quote tweeted “1,500.”

Rome Odunze backed his father for standing up for him, but he made clear it was “not from a disbelief in this team or a disbelief in anybody in this organization.”

But beneath the surface, Odunze said that some of his frustrations mirrored his father’s.

“In some ways,” the player said. “But honestly, I just wanted to have the success of the team. I always feel like I can contribute and be a part of a big role for the success of the team that I’m on. So, I’m going to continue to hold that mindset.

“And obviously, last year that was kind of minimized at certain points, but I don’t think that was necessarily because of anybody in the room or necessarily anything that was directly in that fashion. But that’s kind of just how it works out sometimes, especially when you have so many great guys in the room and we’re all putting it together. It obviously caused a little bit of frustration, but I’m always kind of steady and working towards my goals.”

ODUNZE SMILES WHEN he thinks back to the events that led up to being drafted.

Days before he heard NFL commissioner Roger Goodell say his name, Odunze was invited to work out with Williams in Southern California. It was their first time meeting in a throwing session that also included Allen and Moore.

He still can’t comprehend how all the stars seemed to align to make Chicago his NFL destination. The first jersey he owned as a kid was Brian Urlacher’s No. 54. His favorite player growing up was Devin Hester.

“I call it God, but I think there’s something out there looking out for us,” Odunze said.

Odunze began his second NFL season by scoring a touchdown in four straight games. That number would have extended to five had it not been for an illegal formation penalty that nullified Odunze’s third-quarter touchdown against the Washington Commanders.

Odunze’s production has been quieter than he hoped for the last two weeks. He caught two passes for 32 yards on five targets in Washington and had two receptions for 31 yards against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Odunze had six targets in the first half against the Saints but none in the second half.

There were three plays inside the two-minute warning in the first half against New Orleans when Williams entered scramble mode and failed to connect with Odunze. Johnson believed Odunze could have caught “one or two of them” and that Williams needed to have better ball placement on the other.

Despite a dip in production in Chicago’s last two games, Johnson believes Odunze will soon find his stride.

“I think as an offense it comes in waves,” Johnson said. “Some guys are going to get hot and some guys are going to step out of the spotlight for a little bit. I think that’s the nature of having so many good players, Rome certainly being a part of that.

“So there will be a time where this thing comes around again and he gets hot all of a sudden and he’ll end up