DJ Moore, Rome Odunze share first impressions of Caleb Williams passes
DJ Moore, Rome Odunze share first impressions of Caleb Williams passes originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Bears rookie minicamp just started on Friday, but rookie Caleb Williams has already gotten in some work with his talented wide receiver trio, DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze. Early reviews from the wideouts are in, and it’s five-star across the board.
"Yeah, he is very talented,” said Odunze. “I got to see that when I was playing against him in college. It's really effortless for him. You know he could do a lot of things that older quarterbacks may think is hard, effortlessly.”
Odunze got some work in with Williams before the draft and worked with him again after the draft. The two got into the playbook together and tried to build up their chemistry as early as possible. Odunze said that Williams’ passes to him improved every time they got together to run routes, as Williams learned more about Odunze with the on–field reps. Odunze was also impressed by the variety of throws Williams put on display over their workouts and described Willams as “very smooth.”
“He could throw the ball from any angle, body position, anywhere on the field, to any spot on the field,” Odunze said. “So you always have to be ready. Always have to be prepared anytime he is in the backfield, so it gives you the confidence that he's going to put it on you when you're giving him your best on the route."
Moore joined Allen and Odunze for one of those workouts in Los Angeles. Right away, Moore noticed one thing that stood out about Williams’ game.
"His anticipation," Moore said on the “Up & Adams” show on Tuesday. "He had the ball right there on the money before we even turned around."
Lack of anticipation was a major critique of Justin Fields’ game and Moore’s observation shines a light on why the Bears opted to move on from Fields in order to draft Williams.
In all, Williams’ first day of minicamp went as expected. He was accurate and operated 7-on-7 drills well, as he should. There were a couple of errant throws, and one time when Williams needed to “scramble” to buy time, but Williams made the most of that one busted rep to find Odunze about 20 yards down the field.
Williams is in position to make Bears history as a rookie, but he and the rest of the team have a lot of work to do to realize that potential. First impressions aren’t the end all be all when evaluating players or a team, but they are important. And first impressions of Williams have all been positive.
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