DETROIT — Caleb Williams held a throwing session last week with two of his future teammates.
Maybe three.
In anticipation of being drafted No. 1 overall Thursday night, the USC quarterback threw passes to the Bears’ best two wideouts — DJ Moore and Keenan Allen — in Los Angeles. They were joined by Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze, who could be available when the Bears pick ninth.
“If that ends up being the duo for them — with Caleb back there throwing them the ball — I know they’ll be in good hands,” Odunze said Wednesday after an NFL charity event at the site of the former Tiger Stadium.
And what if the Bears drafted him to be the third receiver?
“That’d be awesome,” Odunze, 22, said. “If they come get me . . . that’d be awesome and something I’d love to be a part of.”
Indeed, it’s unclear if Odunze, who led FBS receivers with 1,640 receiving yards last season, will be available at No. 9. He’s one of a trio of wide receivers — alongside Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. and LSU’s Malik Nabers — expected to be picked in the top 10.
Odunze — whose private coach, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, helped arrange the workout invite — said he’d love to learn from Allen, who, he said, “is on the way to a Hall of Fame career.”
With Moore on the field, too, it would be almost impossible for any of the Bears’ three wide receivers to be double-teamed.
“It would be explosive,” Odunze said. “Honestly, there’s a lot of weapons on the field in that offense.”
That’s the point. The Bears spent the offseason trying to build the best situation for Williams. They traded for Allen and center Ryan Bates and signed running back D’Andre Swift and tight end Gerald Everett.
Drafting a wide receiver at No. 9 would be the cherry on top.
“If I’ve got a first-overall-pick quarterback, I want to serve him with the ninth pick,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. “If it was me, I’d take Rome Odunze if he’s there. I wouldn’t even wait. If it’s 10 minutes on the clock . . . I’d figure out what to do with the other 9½ minutes.”
Odunze is one of the players who gets Williams’ vote. Asked whom the Bears should draft ninth, Williams first named Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu, his former high school teammate who would “put his life on the line protecting me,” then settled on one of the top three receivers.
“Whoever’s there at 9,” Williams said.
It’s unlikely that will be Harrison, though the Bears brought him to Halas Hall this month for a visit. Harrison has been friends with Moore for years.
“That’d be surreal to be teammates with him after knowing each other for so long,” Harrison said. “I think we’d do great things together on the field.”
The Bears could take the first defender in the draft, too. Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner, who visited Halas Hall at the same time as Williams, was intrigued by the idea of playing opposite Bears defensive end Montez Sweat.
“Be a sponge to him,” he said, “and just learn.”
Landed safely in Detroit 😅@RomeOdunze @CALEBcsw https://t.co/ZqbdHD1aks pic.twitter.com/m6g2vJaFIg
— NFL (@NFL) April 23, 2024
Jeremiah suspects the Bears could trade down and draft a defensive lineman or left tackle, the Bears’ two other admitted areas of need. He wouldn’t do that were Odunze available.
“I’d rather have one too many great players on offense,” he said, “and five too few on defense.”
Before they became friends during the draft process, Williams knew Odunze from the Huskies’ 52-42 victory against the Trojans in November.
“It was not enjoyable then,” Williams said. “But to be around him and hang out with him here and at the combine and all the other stuff that we’ve done, being around each other, it’s been really fun.
“To be able to work with him possibly, if that happens, would be an honor for me.”
