'He thrives on those moments.' Get to know Bears rookie WR Rome Odunze.

— Ryan said that spoke to him that in that moment you guys wanted to do whatever you could to get the ball in his hands and then let him work. Fourth-and-1 and he gets 23 yards to propel a game-winning drive.

That’s the thing for me. And that’s why I’ve been putting my foot in my mouth at times, but it’s the truth in the way I feel. Rome was the best receiver in college football this past year. There’s no doubt about it. He made the biggest plays in the biggest moments of the big games. That’s why he was the best. But, hey, everybody has their opinion. None of that matters anymore. Now it’s time for him to go be his best for the Chicago Bears.

— What did it say for you guys to call that play in that moment given what was on the line?

There was never a doubt for any of us. Ball’s going to Rome? We’re all good. Just find ways to get the ball to Rome. It was never a problem. I mean, don’t get me wrong. We had other receivers who were phenomenal players. It was just when we knew it was going to Rome, we never had a second thought as to what was going to happen. And he was going to find a way to make it happen.

— Rome talked on draft night about how the journey with a team that got all the way to the final game of last season was valuable for him to see what it took collectively to get there. What do you think he can take away from that experience to help perform something similar in Chicago?

You think about a roster (at Washington) that had experienced some of the lowest of lows and going 4-8 (in 2021). You see the head coach no longer be a part of the staff and a brand-new regime come in and to build right away and not take a second to wait. I think that’s what Rome will bring to the table in Chicago. He’s not going to be a patient individual. He’s going to be ready to do it right now.

And I think the city of Chicago and the whole fan base just needs to get behind them — 100%. I know our fan base at the University of Washington was behind us from Day 1. There were no fair-weather fans. They all just jumped on board and said, hey, these are the cards we were dealt. Let’s go battle it out with each other. So the fan base in Chicago should just jump on board and enjoy the ride.

— How valuable was it for Rome to have an opportunity to carry a team in the biggest moments of a college football season?

I honestly wish that on every player in the country to have that, to have that pressure put on you to be able to carry it. Because you find out what you’re really made of as a human being and as a young man. So there’s no doubt about it that’s going to aid him in helping carry this team.

Look, everybody knows there are always nicks and bruises and things of that nature when you get into the National Football League. But somebody has to step up in those big moments. And Rome stepped up. Through a punctured lung. Through various other things that went undisclosed. So he’s going step up and be that guy who will be available. The best ability is availability.

— Lastly, as both a football coach and a football fan, you must have some level of intrigue about the pairing of Rome and Caleb Williams. What intrigues you about those two coming together, not only skill set-wise but they also have the instant connection and an identical timeline for breaking in here?

I think it’ll be a cool story to write one day — just how they came in together and eventually became something special there together as well. But they still have a lot of work to do in order to get there. Neither one of them are finished products.

Everyone expects them to come in and flip the script right away. And they expect that too. However, even what you saw with (Odunze) and Mike Penix together at Washington, there was a level of comfortability that grew with them in Year 2 that was even that much better than Year 1. So hopefully (with Odunze and Williams) that connection can really spark early and give them a chance to highlight the city of Chicago within the next year or two.