Colts linked as potential trade-up team for WR Rome Odunze

The Indianapolis Colts certainly are doing their due diligence on the wide receivers in the 2024 NFL draft, including some prospects who may seemingly be out of reach like Washington’s Rome Odunze.

After completely torching the NFL Scouting Combine during Saturday’s drills, Odunze checked all the boxes. It was then reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport that the Colts were among the teams who met formally with the star wide receiver prospect.

Despite being outside of the projected range of Odunze’s draft capital, Rapoport listed the Colts among the teams who may be interested in a trade-up for the prospect.

“Let’s look at some of the teams he met with. The Patriots, the Cardinals, the Giants, the Titans and the Bears are among the intriguing ones for me because those are all the top 10 teams,” said Rapoport. “Also, he spent some time with the Colts, the Jaguars, the Rams and the Steelers. The reason why those are interesting is those would be potential trade-up teams. Rarely do you see a huge trade-up for a receiver, but not never. Obviously, that is something to keep an eye on.”

Odunze was already in the conversation as the WR3 in this class behind Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers, both of whom opted out of testing. Odunze did everything, though, and shined brightly.

Rome Odunze is a WR prospect in the 2024 draft class. He scored an unofficial 9.91 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 29 out of 3090 WR from 1987 to 2024.

Splits projectedhttps://t.co/Tms6ogR4Fe pic.twitter.com/UmA9MbkYix

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 3, 2024

Odunze would be an incredible fit for the Colts as a complement to Michael Pittman Jr., but he certainly has the upside to turn into a team’s WR1. Given how impactful the passing game has become, a team can never take too many shots at wide receiver.

The big question isn’t whether Colts are interested in Odunze. That part has become clear. The question now becomes whether Chris Ballard would be willing to pull the trigger on a trade-up if the opportunity presents itself.

Odunze currently is projected to go inside the top 10 and some mock drafts have him going as early as No. 5 overall to the Los Angeles Chargers. A big run on quarterbacks, edge rushers and cornerbacks would likely be the only scenario in which Odunze gets surprisingly pushed down the board.

Either way, draft season is officially upon us when this type of news drops.