'I don’t know if you can get two better mentors': How Rome Odunze can benefit from unique situation

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Bears receivers coach Chris Beatty was on a plane home to Maryland when he got news of the team acquiring receiver Keenan Allen from the Chargers, where Beatty coached Allen for three seasons. It’s fitting that Beatty was headed to Maryland because that’s where he also coached receiver DJ Moore.

“I had already been talking because Keenan and I talk all the time anyway, so I was like, ‘This can’t be real at the end of the day,’” Beatty said. “Then I get the call, and my son was sitting there with me. He knew by the look on my face. He was doing cartwheels because he knew what that meant. Like I said, if there’s a better one [receiver] in the league as far as all-around, he’s right up there with him."

Adding Allen—who has caught 904 passes for 10,530 yards in his career—instantly bolstered a receiving core that needed some talent to ease the pressure on Moore. The two veterans complement each other well, with Moore able to take the top off a defense and Allen proficient on third downs and slants.

But the biggest responsibility the two receivers might have is shepherding the development of first-round pick Rome Odunze, who didn’t participate in Saturday’s rookie minicamp practice because of a hamstring injury.

“I don’t know if you can get two better mentors – and two different skillsets,” Beatty said. “DJ is like a bull in a china shop, and Keenan is like painting the edges on Picasso. At the end of the day, you get every angle. And Rome is kind of in between.”

While all the attention is focused on quarterback Caleb Williams, Odunze’s development is important for the Bears' present and future. The rookie receiver has the benefit of being brought along slowly with the Bears, a benefit not usually afforded to top-10 picks.

Beatty said Odunze has impressed him with his ability to grasp concepts and how smart he is and the type of person he is. While Odunze has a lot to learn about tempo and pace, he still is a talented receiver who brings traits the Bears lacked last season.

“He’s a really big guy, with a big strike zone and a big target,” Beatty said. “He’s got complementary skills to the guys we have now, so I think he can bring some things to the room that we don’t currently have in there as far as his length. He’s still got the speed to take the top off.”

The Bears have only had two instances in franchise history in which two receivers had 1,000 yards in the same season. The last duo to accomplish the feat was Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery in 2013. Adding in tight ends Gerald Everett and Cole Kmet, the Bears have the personnel to create numerous mismatches.

“I’m excited every single day, being able to use those guys but also Cole, Gerald, [running back D'Andre]Swift and what those guys add to the package,” passing game coordinator Thomas Brown said. “This is a matchup league, so it’s about trying to create matchups for us offensively."

Though Odunze likely won’t face as much pressure to succeed on the field because of his veteran counterparts, Beatty said there's still internal pressure that comes with being in a room with two accomplished NFL players, which can benefit Odunze.

“I look on one side, and it's DJ Moore,” Beatty said. “On the other side is Keenan Allen. There's some pressure to that because I better step in and know that, ‘Hey, I better live up to these guys expectations.’”