30 Most Important Bears of 2026: Rome Odunze (No. 9)
· Yahoo Sports
The Chicago Bears are gearing up for a hyped 2026 season, where they're looking to build off their impressive first season under head coach Ben Johnson, which included an NFC North title and a wild-card playoff win. While they found success in 2025, it's a brand new slate for this Bears team following an offseason of change, including the departures of key veterans and the additions of new veterans and exciting rookies.
The work begins in training camp, where Johnson will put his team through the wringer with the intent to prepare them for the 2026 season. Every day from now right up through training camp, we’re counting down our 30 Most Important Bears for the 2026 season. We’ll recap their 2025 season, look ahead to 2026 and tackle the biggest question facing them this year.
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We've reached single digits with wide receiver Rome Odunze at No. 9, who is looking to prove he's the WR1 the Bears envisioned when they selected him in the first round two years ago.
Background
Position: Wide receiver
Age: 24
Experience:3rd season
2026 cap hit: $6.2 million
2025 recap
No Bears player had a better start to the 2025 season than Odunze. While the entire team took some time to find their footing, Odunze provided the only consistency the offense had. Throughout the first four games of the season, Odunze racked up 20 catches for 296 yards and five touchdowns. He looked like one of the best receivers in the league but eventually fell back to earth with modest production and the occasional notable performance midway through the season. A big reason why Odunze fell off, though, was because he was dealing with a stress fracture in his foot that limited his production. After some uneven games, Odunze missed the final five games of the year before returning for the playoffs. While he's responsible for one of the best postseason plays in recent Bears history, catching quarterback Caleb Williams' miraculous fourth-down conversion, Odunze had minimal impact the rest of the way. Despite the hot start, Odunze finished the season with 44 receptions for 661 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games.
Importance in 2026
The Bears' receiving corps looks a lot different this offseason compared to last year, mainly due to the trade of DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills. His departure creates a hole in the position group that must be filled by the rest of the squad, and his 85 targets have to be absorbed somewhere. Odunze was already counted on to play an important role last year, but that will be magnified in 2026. With Moore gone, Odunze is the most tenured receiver on the team, and he's played in just 29 regular-season games. He stands to see increased targets and opportunities in the passing game, and he has to make the most of them now that he's fully healthy. Not only for his sake but also for the offense's as a whole.
Big question: Can Odunze become a star receiver?
Going into 2026, opinions on Odunze have become split amongst Bears fans. Some look at his early success from last year as a sign of the player he should be going into Year 3 and blame the stress fracture for his fall-off. Others point to his inconsistencies and drops as reasons for concern going forward. Now in the same offensive system for two years in a row, Odunze must show he has no lingering effects from his injury but also that he's cleaned up the issues that caused drives to stall. You can see the strong chemistry between him and Williams in practice, and that has translated to games. It just hasn't been consistent. Odunze has a prime opportunity to break out in 2026 and become a star receiver in this league. And if he doesn't take hold of that opportunity, chances are one of his teammates will.
30 Most Important Bears of 2026
#30 - QB Tyson Bagent#29 - TE Sam Roush#28 - CB Josh Blackwell#27 - CB Malik Muhammad#26 - DE Dayo Odeyingbo#25 - LB T.J. Edwards#24 - TE Cole Kmet#23 - S Dillon Thieneman#22 - WR Kalif Raymond#21 - CB Tyrique Stevenson#20 - K Cairo Santos#19 - RB Kyle Monangai#18 - CB Kyler Gordon#17 - DE Austin Booker#16 - C Garrett Bradbury#15 - LB Devin Bush#14 - DT Gervon Dexter#13 - RB D'Andre Swift#12 - LT Braxton Jones#11 - S Coby Bryant#10 - CB Jaylon Johnson#9 - WR Rome Odunze#8 - Coming 7/21#7 - Coming 7/22#6 - Coming 7/23#5 - Coming 7/24#4 - Coming 7/25#3 - Coming 7/26#2 - Coming 7/27#1 - Coming 7/28This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: 30 Most Important Bears of 2026: Rome Odunze (No. 9)