Caleb Williams opened a small Pandora’s box on Tuesday when he revealed that Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze, another projected top 10 pick, was on the same flight to Detroit for the NFL draft as him. The USC quarterback isn’t dumb. He’s aware Odunze is mocked regularly to the Chicago Bears with their #9 pick, and everybody knows Williams will be their choice at #1. So he decided to tease people with it on Twitter. To his credit, Odunze played along. As it turns out, the connection between these two goes far deeper than anybody could’ve predicted.
According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Williams is already working out with Bears receivers D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen, just in case you still have lingering doubts about whether he is the pick. However, it goes a step further. Apparently, Odunze was also involved in those sessions.
It is hard not to read between the lines here. If one player feels destined to join the Bears at this point, it’s the Washington star. Almost every draft expert believes he will be on the board when they pick again, and he’s widely considered on the same level as Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers. It feels like an easy decision.
We must remember this is the draft. Information is key. The fact it’s becoming so clear that Williams and Odunze hope to join each other in Chicago feels it might be an intentional plant. Perhaps the Bears are sending a signal that they plan to take him at #9 unless somebody jumps in front of them first. Why would they do this? The simple answer is they’re hoping to get another prospect they want to drop to them. Two names stand out as possibilities. One is Notre Dame left tackle Joe Alt, and the other is Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner.
Alt seems unlikely since he’s expected to go to Los Angeles at #5 or Tennessee at #7. That means Turner is the probable target in this scenario. Several experts believe he is a heavy favorite to go #8 to the Atlanta Falcons. However, that would change if somebody made an aggressive move to get that pick, hoping to snag Rome Odunze for themselves. This would clear the way for Turner to reach #9, giving the Bears that coveted second pass rusher they need.
Or maybe this is all overthinking, and the team feels confident Odunze will be there when they pick again. If that is how it plays out, the offense will be as talented as it has been in years.
