Bears Rookie Report Card: Grading the Rookies After First Quarter of the Season
Kiran Amegadjie, T
Amegadjie unfortunately has not seen the field yet as he spent most of camp recovering from an injury. He has begun practicing, however, and was a possibility to see the field last week when some reports came out earlier in the week about an injury to right tackle Darnell Wright. The Bears' offensive line has been anything but promising to this point, especially on the interior. The run blocking was much improved last week, but the pass protection was still abysmal at times.
Hopefully, the Bears can build on some of the things they did well in the trenches this past Sunday, but if the struggles continue Eberflus may need to take a look at what they have in Amegadjie. He did play some guard at Yale so moving him inside can be an option. Missing the entirety of camp and being asked to jump into an already struggling line situation is not ideal, but he wasn't selected in the third round to warm the bench forever.
Grade: N/A
Rome Odunze, WR
This may be a hot take or maybe not at all, but Odunze has been the Bears' best receiver after watching all of the film thus far. The numbers are obviously not there and the overall success, but it is clear that this guy can be a top receiver in the league. He has just 10 catches for 166 yards and a touchdown on the year but has been the best route-runner and open on multiple occasions when looking back at the tape. Whether it was the protection up front or Caleb Williams simply not seeing him, there have been numerous times when big plays were to be had and the Bears did not capitalize.
Odunze's current 17-game averages would be 43 catches for 706 yards and seven touchdowns per Pro Football Reference. Those are not the numbers you wish to get out of a 9th overall draft pick. The chemistry between Odunze and Williams should grow over the year as well as the offense in general so I see those numbers only increasing. Keenan Allen has already missed two games and is known for missing time so if he needs to again at some point down the line, Odunze could be in for a much larger target share.