Rome Odunze seeing preparation, hard work ‘come to fruition’

Along with the improved offensive production, Odunze sees the possibility of getting veteran receiver Keenan Allen back in action as a major boost. Allen, who missed the past two games with a heel injury, practiced in a limited capacity Wednesday and Thursday.

“A 12-year vet? The Hall of Famer? Oh man, I couldn’t tell you how that’s going to help,” Odunze joked. “Nah, just playing. It’s Keenan Allen. He’s going to go out there and provide problems for the defense, tell us different things during the course of the game to help us out and continue to be Keenan Allen, the weapon that he is.

“That’s going to provide problems for the defense, not knowing who to guard out there, who to cover, who to emphasize and allow more things to open up.”

Even if Allen is able to play Sunday versus the Rams, Odunze will continue to be an integral piece of the offense’s success as he and Williams further their on-field connection.

While it took a few games for the draft picks to showcase their chemistry, Odunze believes it’s just one chapter in their early careers. For the duo, the focus ultimately remains on using their connection to win games.

“It’s a part of our journey, but it’s not the end all be all,” Odunze said. “It was a great connection that we had on that game, but it wasn’t enough to get the W either. It’s kind of bittersweet. It’s things you can look at and be like, ‘yeah, I need to do a little more of that,’ and there’s things you can look at and say, ‘hey, I didn’t do that very well,’ and things to improve on. So it’s a chapter that we’ll continue to learn from regardless of it all. “