Antwaan Randle El knows a thing or two about being an NFL wide receiver. The new Chicago Bears wide receivers coach was an All-Pro and a Super Bowl champion in his nine-year career with Pittsburgh and Washington.

So when Randle El says, “the thing about Rome is, he has huge upside,” you know the words carry weight.

Randle El is in his first season on Ben Johnson’s new staff in Chicago, joining the Bears after working with Johnson as the Lions’ wide receivers coach.

A year ago, Randle El was in Detroit hoping Odunze somehow would fall to the Lions. Instead, the Bears took him with the No. 9 pick — behind fellow receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. (No. 4) and Malik Nabers (No. 6).

Harrison and Nabers were highly regarded prospects, but Randle El actually had Odunze over both of them in his rankings.

“Everybody had Harrison, I think, first, and Nabers, but I had Rome first,” Randle El said. “I called his coach, Shep (former Washington wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard), saying, ‘Can we get him?’ It didn’t work out in Detroit, but I’m glad that he’s here because here we go.”

Randle El is relishing the opportunity to work with Odunze in Chicago and help mold the young receiver into one of the top targets in the league.

“Now it’s how do I, not speed him up because he’s got to go through the process of failing, so to speak in a lot of ways,” Randle El told reporters Friday. “A lot of that comes from me in practice putting pressure on him, not making it easy, so he can grow.”

The Bears hope Odunze can continue to grow in his second season at Soldier Field. He reeled in 54 catches for 734 yards and three touchdowns in his rookie season.

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Randle El’s strategy to help Odunze improve — making sure any mistakes are immediately corrected.

“If he makes a little mistake, correct it right away, so he can grow day in and day out,” Randle El said. “With DJ [Moore], he already knows those little mistakes. I may just look at him and he’ll know right way, versus I got to go to Rome and get after him a little bit so he knows.

“The thing about Rome is, he has huge upside. I got to be able to nourish that so he can grow as a player.”

If Odunze is to make the sophomore season leap that Bears fans hope he can, listening to someone with as much experience and knowledge as Randle El certainly will be a factor.