LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Rome Odunze lined up in the left slot, eventually moving in motion to the right side of the formation. The rookie receiver snuck into a crevasse between Cole Kmet and Keenan Allen, which sent the 49ers coverage plan for a loop.

Odunze took full advantage. He started running to his left before cutting back right in the end zone. The 49ers secondary was a little late picking him up, creating a window of scoring opportunity.

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“The defenders on the motion were confused, and Rome ran a great route by not colliding,” quarterback Caleb Williams said. “I just gave him an opportunity by putting the ball on the back pylon, which is something we practice all the time. He went up and made a great play by getting both feet down.”

Odunze most certainly did. The No. 9 overall draft pick leapt up to catch the ball, and then quickly brought his feet down before momentum carried him out of bounds.

Tap, tap. Touchdown.

“That is something we work with quite a bit – whether it’s on the sideline or the back of the endzone – having awareness to get our feet inbounds and our foot dragged,” said Bears offensive coordinator Chris Beatty, who is also the team’s receivers coach. “Those things both showed up in that situation.”

That play’s an example of Odunze at his best, and not the only one. While he has been overshadowed by Williams’ presence at the No. 1 overall pick and the fact Allen and DJ Moore are on the roster, Odunze has shown talent worthy of his top-10 selection.

That’s clear in highlights. It’s clear to those around him most.

Beatty works with him a ton in positional meetings, and sees both talent and a willing to work for better.

“Rome is special,” Beatty said in a Thursday press conference. “The fact that he is a special player, but he is also a special as a person. Everything that you coach he takes in. He takes notes – if you ever saw his notebook it looks like a college kid that is in whatever kind of business class or something like that. He takes notes on everything. So as a receiver coach you respect that because he wants to learn for everybody. Whether it’s Keenan  talking, or DJ talking, I’m talking, whoever it is – (head coach) Thomas (Brown) in the front, he’s taking notes on everything.”

Beatty called Odunze “quarterback friendly,” a relatively common term for receivers who are easy to throw to and is trusted by guys making the throws.

“There is attention to detail in being friendly to the quarterback. Being able to understand angles and leverage,” Beatty said. “A lot of times you just run routes and that stuff shows up and you’re really good. That’s part of it – and he’s really good.

“I think a lot of times all these receivers, they have a knack for being able to be friendly to the quarterback by understanding where to post a guy up, where to create and angle or leverage to make myself open where a normal receiver may not be able to do that.”

Then Beatty dropped a real compliment on the University of Washington product.

“I have not dealt with many who are advanced as he is.”

That’s saying something, considering Moore and Allen are in his receiver room, and not for the first time. He coached Moore in college at the University of Maryland and Allen for three seasons with the Chargers. He knows what those went through to improve, and he sees Odunze as starting his NFL career with a higher floor.

“Rome is advanced as a route runner,” Beatty said. “There is a lot of room for growth, but he has a knack for being able to move his body and getting himself to where he is friendly for the quarterback.”