The True Mastermind Who Got Rome Odunze To Chicago Has Been Revealed
As the NFL draft approached, there was an undercurrent of belief that the Chicago Bears would focus on the trenches with their #9 overall pick. Either they would take a pass rusher to help their defense or give Braxton Jones competition at left tackle. However, barely 24 hours before the draft began, there was a dramatic shift to Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze. It was revealed that he and presumed #1 pick Caleb Williams had met each other at a private workout with Bears receivers D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen. Then they happened to end up on the same flight to Detroit.
Nothing about that felt like a random coincidence. Somebody had to be pulling the strings behind the scenes, right? As it turns out, that proved true. Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic learned that one man carefully steered Odunze into meeting Williams before the draft, believing the two could forge an instant connection. That would then catch the attention of the Bears, who would feel compelled to keep them together if Odunze fell to #9 as many experts projected. The culprit was former Pro Bowl receiver T.J. Houshmanzadeh.
When former NFL wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh asked Rome Odunze if he wanted to join a workout in Los Angeles with Caleb Williams, DJ Moore and Keenan Allen, it was an easy answer.
“Hell yeah I do,” Odunze told him.
As Houshmandzadeh, who has been training Odunze, watched the workout, he thought to himself, “If Rome makes it to No. 9, the Bears will draft him.”…
…“Once the Chargers did not draft Malik Nabers, I said, Rome’s going to the Bears,” Houshmandzadeh told The Athletic. “And this is something that he wanted once he got to that workout with Caleb Williams, this is what he wanted was to be drafted by the Bears. And so I’m just glad that it happened. And that little chemistry that they were working on now will be developed and honed in on.”
Houshmanzadeh knew exactly what he was doing for Rome Odunze.
After all, a big part of his own NFL success came from getting paired together with a #1 pick at quarterback. He was a 7th round pick in 2001 and spent his first three years floundering with the Cincinnati Bengals. That changed when Carson Palmer, the #1 pick in the 2003 draft, took over as the starter. Houshmanzadeh went on to have at least 900 yards in each of his final five seasons with the team, making the Pro Bowl in 2007. The man knows how critical it is to get paired with a talented quarterback. He knew exactly what he was doing when he brought Williams and Odunze together.
If the two end up becoming the great players many expect them to be, Bears fans should shower Houshmanzadeh with gifts. He basically forced the Bears’ hand in this situation. Having Williams fall in love with the type of player and person Rome Odunze is compelled GM Ryan Poles to keep his new quarterback happy by grabbing the receiver at #9. Not that the Bears were upset about it. They loved Odunze, too. It is just rare to see this kind of sneaky plan play out so beautifully.