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Rome Odunze has a very clearly outlined skill set entering the NFL draft.
He's a vertical receiver in the mold of a DeSean Jackson or Tyler Lockett. Like Lockett and Jackson, he hits top speed early in his routes and he has a second phase of speed if he needs to adjust later in his routes.
He also tracks the ball through the air expertly and has fluid body movement to run precise routes.
The big difference between him and Lockett is that he is 6'3" and 212 lbs. He doesn't really look it because he carries no negative weight. Odunze is a big receiver target who can put defensive backs in losing positions with his speed.
This play is a great example of why it's going to be so difficult for defensive backs who cover Odunze at the next level. He uses his quickness off the line of scrimmage to step inside before immediately breaking to the outside.
His early acceleration puts him level with the defender down the sideline very quickly. He's looking back for the ball while the defender is in a full sprint looking at him losing ground.
Odunze has the winning position early and he knows how to then take advantage of that by raising his inside elbow into the chest of the defender. He doesn't fade away from the defender, instead he leans into him while maintaining the vertical of his route.
That preserves the space outside of him that he eventually drops back into.
With one push-off at the final moment, Odunze eventually falls back to catch the ball into his chest. He's moved so late in the play that the defensive back has no opportunity to be involved at the catch point.
This is the quintessential example of an athletic receiver using great technique to get the most out of his athletic advantages.
Michael Penix Jr was a top 10 draft pick. It's hard to understand why when you watch Odunze in isolation. The ball is flying all over the place so much so that many of his targets flew over his head when he was wide open.
Odunze was given plenty of opportunities to win contested catches because of Penix's lack of precision throwing into windows.
This one showcases how valuable his size is. The ball is underthrown so it arrives into the gap between the defensive back and the receiver. Most vertical receivers can't win in this situation because they're too small to tower over the defender like this.
But Odunze's size allows him to elevate his chest to the same level as the defender's head before making the play.
Critically, Odunze quickly swiped away the first contact that the defender made on him when he released from the line. The defender tried to move him off his line once they both engaged but his size and resilience made it an impossible task.
This is another play where Odunze worked the sideline and put the defensive back in a losing position. Penix's throw didn't lead him to space, it was effectively another jump ball.
Although it looks quite awkward, Odunze makes this catch point work for him by jumping into the defender with his upper body and reaching outside of himself to make the play on the ball.
Notably, it's another body catch action which is somewhat concerning.
Odunze did make catches away from his body and because of his size/ball tracking, it's less of a concern than it generally is that he relied so much on body catches. Penix's inability to put the ball in good spots also limited how much exposure we got when it came to him high pointing the ball or reaching away to catch it.
On this paly we get to see Odunze working inside the numbers.
He angles his release to the defensive back appropriately and steps past his his inside shoulder. This route could have been cleaner. He needed to show more definition by threatening wider to the outside and then making a sharper step across the face of the defender.
Instead, he relies on his size and strength to force his way through the defensive back. That impacts the timing of the play and allows the defender to stay on his back.
Again, Odunze's size bails him out as he puts his body between the defender and the ball. The tracking he shows off here is excellent. How he reads the flight of the football is consistently so good that it's easier to overlook any route running flaws.
And since he's got such fluid athleticism, his limited route tree and route inconsistency are less of a concern.
Even then, it's not like he's an especially bad route runner or someone who never shows off high-end traits in that area.
You see good footwork at the bottom of the screen for this touchdown against Oregon State.
Odunze uses a very wide step to the inside here before transitioning across the face of the defender so that he's open at the near pylon. The defender has to respect that inside threat and does so by dropping his weight back.
As soon as he does that, he has no chance to recover.
That kind of footwork and spacial awareness can be refined by a good wide receivers coach at the next level.
On this play you see him perfectly attack the blindspot of the cornerback bailing out to try and match his speed.
Not only does Odunze get his positioning right throughout the early stages of the route, he cuts back at the perfect time so that he's just past the first down line and in the blindspot of the defender.
That gives him the chance to catch the ball uncontested and turn upfield to break the tackle attempt.
Breaking tackles is something Odunze did with relative ease in college.
He's going to be a threat to the endzone from everywhere on the field because of his size and speed. But he's not limited to jump ball situations. He can catch the ball underneath to make defenders miss after the catch inside the numbers too as we see here.
With his ability on vertical routes, Odunze will have plenty of opportunities against off-man coverage. For the likes of Ted Ginn or Marquez Valdes-Scantling, off-man coverage can turn them into very limited receivers.
They don't have the fluidity or comfort with the ball in their hands that the likes of Odunze do. That will help move him into a category alongside the likes of Jaylen Waddle or Devonta Smith from the start of his rookie seasons.
Smith and Waddle both showed more in terms of routes run and being a possession receiver in college before coming to the NFL though.
Odunze's body control and fluidity makes him a more appealing long-term prospect than Malik Nabers, although Nabers might take to the NFL more easily than him initially. We don't really know though because of just how bad the service Odunze got in college was. Had he played with Jayden Daniels instead of Penix Jr, we would have got plenty more opportunities to see how he reacted to different situations.
He's a vertical receiver in the mold of a DeSean Jackson or Tyler Lockett. Like Lockett and Jackson, he hits top speed early in his routes and he has a second phase of speed if he needs to adjust later in his routes.
He also tracks the ball through the air expertly and has fluid body movement to run precise routes.
The big difference between him and Lockett is that he is 6'3" and 212 lbs. He doesn't really look it because he carries no negative weight. Odunze is a big receiver target who can put defensive backs in losing positions with his speed.
This play is a great example of why it's going to be so difficult for defensive backs who cover Odunze at the next level. He uses his quickness off the line of scrimmage to step inside before immediately breaking to the outside.
His early acceleration puts him level with the defender down the sideline very quickly. He's looking back for the ball while the defender is in a full sprint looking at him losing ground.
Odunze has the winning position early and he knows how to then take advantage of that by raising his inside elbow into the chest of the defender. He doesn't fade away from the defender, instead he leans into him while maintaining the vertical of his route.
That preserves the space outside of him that he eventually drops back into.
With one push-off at the final moment, Odunze eventually falls back to catch the ball into his chest. He's moved so late in the play that the defensive back has no opportunity to be involved at the catch point.
This is the quintessential example of an athletic receiver using great technique to get the most out of his athletic advantages.
Michael Penix Jr was a top 10 draft pick. It's hard to understand why when you watch Odunze in isolation. The ball is flying all over the place so much so that many of his targets flew over his head when he was wide open.
Odunze was given plenty of opportunities to win contested catches because of Penix's lack of precision throwing into windows.
This one showcases how valuable his size is. The ball is underthrown so it arrives into the gap between the defensive back and the receiver. Most vertical receivers can't win in this situation because they're too small to tower over the defender like this.
But Odunze's size allows him to elevate his chest to the same level as the defender's head before making the play.
Critically, Odunze quickly swiped away the first contact that the defender made on him when he released from the line. The defender tried to move him off his line once they both engaged but his size and resilience made it an impossible task.
This is another play where Odunze worked the sideline and put the defensive back in a losing position. Penix's throw didn't lead him to space, it was effectively another jump ball.
Although it looks quite awkward, Odunze makes this catch point work for him by jumping into the defender with his upper body and reaching outside of himself to make the play on the ball.
Notably, it's another body catch action which is somewhat concerning.
Odunze did make catches away from his body and because of his size/ball tracking, it's less of a concern than it generally is that he relied so much on body catches. Penix's inability to put the ball in good spots also limited how much exposure we got when it came to him high pointing the ball or reaching away to catch it.
On this paly we get to see Odunze working inside the numbers.
He angles his release to the defensive back appropriately and steps past his his inside shoulder. This route could have been cleaner. He needed to show more definition by threatening wider to the outside and then making a sharper step across the face of the defender.
Instead, he relies on his size and strength to force his way through the defensive back. That impacts the timing of the play and allows the defender to stay on his back.
Again, Odunze's size bails him out as he puts his body between the defender and the ball. The tracking he shows off here is excellent. How he reads the flight of the football is consistently so good that it's easier to overlook any route running flaws.
And since he's got such fluid athleticism, his limited route tree and route inconsistency are less of a concern.
Even then, it's not like he's an especially bad route runner or someone who never shows off high-end traits in that area.
You see good footwork at the bottom of the screen for this touchdown against Oregon State.
Odunze uses a very wide step to the inside here before transitioning across the face of the defender so that he's open at the near pylon. The defender has to respect that inside threat and does so by dropping his weight back.
As soon as he does that, he has no chance to recover.
That kind of footwork and spacial awareness can be refined by a good wide receivers coach at the next level.
On this play you see him perfectly attack the blindspot of the cornerback bailing out to try and match his speed.
Not only does Odunze get his positioning right throughout the early stages of the route, he cuts back at the perfect time so that he's just past the first down line and in the blindspot of the defender.
That gives him the chance to catch the ball uncontested and turn upfield to break the tackle attempt.
Breaking tackles is something Odunze did with relative ease in college.
He's going to be a threat to the endzone from everywhere on the field because of his size and speed. But he's not limited to jump ball situations. He can catch the ball underneath to make defenders miss after the catch inside the numbers too as we see here.
With his ability on vertical routes, Odunze will have plenty of opportunities against off-man coverage. For the likes of Ted Ginn or Marquez Valdes-Scantling, off-man coverage can turn them into very limited receivers.
They don't have the fluidity or comfort with the ball in their hands that the likes of Odunze do. That will help move him into a category alongside the likes of Jaylen Waddle or Devonta Smith from the start of his rookie seasons.
Smith and Waddle both showed more in terms of routes run and being a possession receiver in college before coming to the NFL though.
Odunze's body control and fluidity makes him a more appealing long-term prospect than Malik Nabers, although Nabers might take to the NFL more easily than him initially. We don't really know though because of just how bad the service Odunze got in college was. Had he played with Jayden Daniels instead of Penix Jr, we would have got plenty more opportunities to see how he reacted to different situations.
