Moore on being named team captain, Williams as a leader |
CHICAGO - For the second season in a row, wide receiver DJ Moore has been elected team captain by his teammates. Moore had the best season of his career last season with 1,364 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, both career highs.
Even with the increase in talent in the receiver room, Moore's election as team captain shows that teammates regard him as the team's top receiver. “In Carolina, I wasn’t a captain. But, I get here. I’m automatically a captain in the first year. I was surprised,” Moore said. “I showed up every day working. I really didn’t have any feelings or bad energy towards being here last year. This year, I think everybody got to know me because of last year and then this year, I kind of opened up more to the locker room. They see who I really was and how I really am as a person.” Things are a bit different in Chicago compared to last season. In addition to having two other elite receivers in the room, six-time Pro-Bowler Keenan Allen and All-American Rome Odunze, Moore will also be catching passes from a different quarterback, rookie Caleb Williams, who was also elected as a team captain. While it is normal for the starting quarterback to be a team captain, this is not as common with rookie quarterbacks. “He went out there and proved himself, took command of the offense and he (started) opening up and people saw that and we (are) rocking with him … When you come to work every day as he did and grow through the things that he had to grow through, especially against the defense and you see the work that he’s put (in) day in and day out, you can’t do anything but respect that and want him to be a captain for you,” Moore said. “It took him a while to get comfortable and start opening up and being who he truly was because he did have to go through learning the offense, learning everybody, learning different things and once he did that, everybody just started gravitating to him and he’s a captain now.” Another player who was named a team captain this year is cornerback Jaylon Johnson. Johnson was a Pro-Bowler for the first team last season, as well as a second-team All-Pro. Despite those accolades, he was snubbed from the Top 100 list. Moore has noticed a change in Johnson in practice. He is even more of a lock-down corner than last season and goes out there with something to prove to the league. “Especially this year, it was hard to catch against him … I know him and Keenan had that back and forth. But, he was out there like a lock-down corner no matter who or what play it was. He was out there competing,” Moore said. “He’s got something to prove this year. I think he just (wants) to go out there and prove that he can be the top DB, top corner out there. That’s what he’s proving.” Chicago’s other team captains were tight ends Cole Kmet and Marcedes Lewis, linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards, as well as safety Kevin Byard. The Bears start out the season with Byard’s revenge game, going against his former team, the Tennessee Titans, on Sun. Sept. 8 (Noon / FOX).
