The 2024 Draft class is abundant in great college receivers and Rome Odunze is the creme de la creme of college football. The Huskies receiver has been compared to Devante Adams, someone who is faultless and an excellent route runner with safe hands and a high -ceiling. However, Odunze has received flak for asserting that he is more athletic than the NFL’s two best wideouts- Davante Adams and Cooper Kupp.
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Rome recently appeared on Ryan Clark’s Pivot Podcast where Clark didn’t hesitate to remind him about his statement that he is a better athlete than Adams and Kupp, leaving Odunze embarrassed enough to eat his words.
He asserted that when he issued his statement of being better than them, he wasn’t thinking and didn’t believe he was in a sound mind. However, he still pointed out that there is no way to measure who is more athletic and he is still up there with him. Odunze stated,
” I was not in my right mind. I am right there with him. I don’t know how you can measure it exactly.”
The Washington Wideout when talking about his favorite receivers in the league had mentioned the likes of Davante Adams, Julio Jones, and Keenan Allen. But he shocked the world when he asserted that he was more athletic than Cooper Kupp and Adams in college.
Clark pointed out that those guys were 100 times better than Rome in college. Was Adams really that better than the Huskies receiver during his college days?
Rome Odunze Vs DaVante Adams College Stats
Davante Adams has been in the league for 10 seasons now and has already passed the 10k-yard milestone. A prime target for Aaron Rodgers for more than 5 seasons, he has been a model of consistency. The Raiders Wideout entered the league only after 2 seasons, forgoing the final two years of college. Playing for Fresno State, Davante racked up some serious numbers. After redshirting his first year, as per Sports Reference, he put up 1312 yards on 102 receptions with 14 TDs in his freshman year.
In his sophomore year, Adams had an astonishing 1719 yards with 24 Touchdowns, averaging 13.1 yards per reception. He ended his college career with over 3000 yards and found the end zone 38 times. The stats and experience were enough for him to forgo the next two years, as he entered the draft in 2014, and was picked at 53rd in the 2nd round by the Packers becoming the 9th receiver to be picked in the draft, that had Odell Beckham Jr, Mike Evans, Brandin Cooks, Allen Robinson, etc.
On the other hand, as per ESPN, Rome Odunze is coming to college with more experience. During his freshman and sophomore years, he had limited involvement, playing 13 games with 8 starts, with only 488 yards and four TDs. Next year was his first 1000-yard season, racking up 1145 in just 12 games, and 75 receptions contributing 7 TDs. He came back for another year in 2023, starting all 13 games, recording 1640 yards and a career-high 13 TDs. He ended his CFB career with 3275 yards in 36 games. Adams achieved 3031 yards in just 26 matches and 2 seasons. His 38 TDs are far more than Rome’s 24.
However, the Huskies WR is expected to be picked in the 1st round, possibly in the top 10 despite being in a receiver-blessed draft class, while Adams was a 2nd round pick. However, like many before him, being picked in the 1st round doesn’t equate to being a successful wideman in the NFL. Adams has been a model of consistency because he adapted to the changes fast. Odunze who has been likened to DeVante might have followed a similar trajectory because we have seen many receivers turn into busts or fail to live up to their potential like OBJ.
