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Momentum is building for Rome Odunze to be the second receiver off the board in the 2024 NFL draft.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper moved Odunze to No. 4 on his final big board ahead of Thursday’s draft, putting the Washington product one spot behind Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. and one ahead of LSU’s Malik Nabers.
Mel Kiper Final Big Board
Caleb Williams (QB, USC)Jayden Daniels (QB, LSU)Marvin Harrison Jr. (WR, Ohio State)Rome Odunze (WR, Washington)Malik Nabers (WR, LSU)Drake Maye (QB, North Carolina)Brock Bowers (TE, Georgia)Joe Alt (OT, Notre Dame)Dallas Turner, (OLB, Alabama)Troy Fautanu (G, Washington)
Odunze, Harrison and Nabers are all considered bonafide WR1s at the next level and could all be taken in the top 10. The B/R Scouting Department ranks Harrison as the No. 1 overall prospect, with Odunze coming in at No. 6 and Nabers at No. 8.
Kiper wrote he would have considered Odunze a Day 2 selection for the 2023 NFL draft, but he came back for a breakout senior season and improved his stock. Odunze made 92 receptions for 1,640 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2023, earning consensus All-American honors.
After putting up an impressive combine performance, running a 4.45-second time in the 40-yard dash and posting a 39-inch vertical leap, Odunze firmly established himself as being willing to put numbers to his on-field performance. Harrison has not done athletic testing for teams, while Nabers waited until the LSU pro day.
Odunze isn’t lacking in confidence either, saying he believes he’s the best wideout in this class.
“I believe so,” Odunze said in an appearance on The Pivot Podcast (36:25 mark). “I do. I think I’m the best wide receiver in the draft, just because my versatility, who I am as a player. I think when you turn on the tape, I don’t see anything that is missing compared to the other guys or something that they have that I don’t or, you know, vice versa.”
We’ll find out Thursday night whether any NFL team agrees with Odunze’s or Kiper’s assessment of the wideout market.
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