Moore impressed with Caleb Williams: “His arm talent was amazing” |
LAKE FOREST, I.L. - When the Chicago Bears traded the No. 1 overall pick prior to the 2023 NFL Draft, that deal changed the franchise's history forever. That trade gave Chicago numerous players, including rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and a receiver who will surely be one of his favorite targets, DJ Moore.
Last season was Moore’s first with the Bears, playing with quarterback Justin Fields who is now with the Pittsburgh Steelers. In that season, Moore statistically had the best year of his career with highs in receptions (96), yards (1,364), first downs (64) and receiving touchdowns (eight). In addition, he had his first rushing touchdown against his former team, the Carolina Panthers, in Chicago’s 16-13 victory under rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent. From his time with the Panthers and his experience last season, Moore is used to playing with different quarterbacks and developing a chemistry between them. He is also used to playing with rookies and helping them develop. That is part of why it carries so much weight that he has been impressed by what he has seen out of Williams thus far. “Straight off the bat, he’s just a leader. He took control of the huddle. His arm talent was amazing. I think that’s what stood out to everybody, and him trying to make all those throws this offseason and OTAs was like, ‘Dang, he really just made that’ or ‘He just did that on the run,’ and it was amazing to see and I’m looking forward to seeing it in full speed against the defense with pads and stuff. So, I’m looking forward to it,” Williams said. “You could say he’s ahead of things in (the) OTA aspect. But, when we get out there in live action, we (are) going to really see the expectations and how everything flows, if it (transfers) over or if he (is) going to have those rookie curves that you got to overcome. So, I’m looking forward to it and seeing how he attacks it and goes about it.” Last year, Moore was the unquestioned No. 1 receiver. Going into training camp this season, things are very different, with Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen now vying for the No. 1 receiver slot. Rookie receiver Rome Odunze is also part of the receiving room this year, which looks like it may be one of the best in the league this upcoming season. However, with all the new additions, Moore highlighted the importance of developing chemistry on the field as soon as possible to ensure they are ready for the upcoming season. “We just all got to come together (as) quickly as possible. We all do different things in the receiver room. The tight ends do a bunch of different things,” Moore said. “Got a new quarterback, the running backs we got (D’Andre) Swift added in there with Roschon (Johnson) and Khalil (Herbert). So, everybody’s just got to start to mesh and they got to start tomorrow when we get out on the field.” Chicago has an extra preseason game as they will be participating in the Hall of Fame game against the Houston Texans on Thursday. Aug. 1 (7 p.m./ABC) before their first official preseason game against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday. Aug. 10 (Noon / NFL Network). The regular season begins on Sunday. Sept. 8 against the Tennessee Titans (Noon / FOX).
