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Bears 2025 position preview: Receiver

As the group's veteran leader, Moore also serves as a mentor to Odunze and rookie Luther Burden III. However, Moore appreciates learning from the young players as well.

"They're keeping me young, even though I'm not that old in the room," Moore said. "But just seeing them just follow behind my lead and just grow from there. Rome's taken a step up this year, I can already tell. And then Lu, who we drafted in the second round, I can't wait to see what he does. I saw him in rookie minicamp doing a lot of things."

Odunze enters his second NFL season after being drafted by the Bears with the No. 9 overall pick in 2024. As a rookie, the Washington product played in all 17 games with 12 starts, accumulating 54 catches for 734 yards and three touchdowns. He joined Hall of Fame tight end Mike Ditka as the only rookies in Bears history to amass at least 50 receptions and 700 yards.

"I'm extremely impressed," coach Ben Johnson said of Odunze. "To be a second-year guy, you would expect a little bit more inconsistency. And yet the way he approaches the meeting room, the walk-through, the drill work, it's very much like a seasoned pro. Some of the best that I've been around. And he's still learning. I know there's a lot of information that's getting thrown his way. Coach Randle El is doing a great job with him right now. We're going to see a lot of growth from him, not just in the springtime, but in camp."

Odunze said he spent the spring and summer improving both physical and mentally in order to make the 2025 season "the best that I've had in this league."

"That comes to a lot of different aspects, to focusing on the playbook, to focusing on the weight room, getting faster, getting stronger, all those different things," Odunze said. "When it comes to goals-wise, I like to think about the team and winning games and making the playoffs. Individually, wanna go for 1,000 \[yards\], double digit \[touchdowns\].

"I think when you're doing the right things and you're having success, and the team is having success, all the statistics and those numbers will come."

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