The NFL Draft season is fully underway, ladies and gentlemen! The Chicago Bears were the winners of the 2022 season's “Tank Bowl”, earning them the first overall pick in the 2023 draft. However, the team virtually had no use for the 1st overall pick. The consensus top pick this year, Bryce Young, is a quarterback, and Chicago believes that they already have their franchise QB in Justin Fields. Because of that, many expected the Bears to trade the top pick at some point.
Hardly anyone expected that trade to come THIS early, though. Moving at breakneck pace, the Bears' front office immediately swung a trade with the first overall pick to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for DJ Moore and more draft capital. It was a savvy move from the Chicago front office: trading down in the draft in order to get more picks AND their guy to pair with Justin Fields. Let's talk about why this is the perfect match for the Bears.
DJ Moore is the perfect receiver for the Bears
Over the last few years, we've seen more and more teams shore up their wide receiver group while a quarterback is still developing. The rationale is that having a better receiver gives more confidence to the QB to make plays and learn. Just look at all of the talented young QBs in the league.
Patrick Mahomes had Tyreek Hill, and still has Travis Kelce by his side. The Bills swung for Stefon Diggs a couple of years ago, and it's paid dividends for Josh Allen's development. Joe Burrow has a trio of stars in Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd. Even last year, we saw a success story with the Eagles. They traded for AJ Brown in the offseason to pair with Jalen Hurts. The result of that gamble? A Super Bowl appearance and an MVP-caliber season for Hurts. This is the blueprint that the Bears are following with their trade for DJ Moore.
First off, DJ Moore is arguably one of the most underrated wide receivers in the NFL. Prior to the 2022 season, the ex-Panthers WR caught over 1100 yards every season (nearly breaching 1200 in 2020). Keep in mind, his QBs during this period were Sam Darnold, Teddy Bridgewater, the aging Cam Newton, and PJ Walker, among others. Not exactly the most inspiring group to throw you the football, but the new Bears WR made it work.
Moore also fits the perfect WR archetype for Justin Fields to work his magic. The Bears QB has a cannon arm, and he's not afraid to let it fly when the situation is right. He throws a gorgeous deep ball, and it bailed Chicago out of sticky situations last year. Moore is accustomed to these deep ball situations: his 172 targets from 10-19 yards downfield is the second-highest from 2019-2022, per PFF.
D.J. Moore helps Justin Fields attack the intermediate area of the field, an area he did well targeting in 2022:
– Fields led NFL with a 66.7% completion percentage on throws 10-19 yards downfield
– D.J. Moore's 172 targets 10-19 yards downfield from 2019-22 is 2nd-most in NFL
— Brad Spielberger, Esq. (@PFF_Brad) March 10, 2023
After nearly rotting behind Matt Nagy's rigid schemes, the Bears are finally catering to Justin Fields' strengths. We already saw last season what Fields can do with a scheme that allows him to utilize his legs to slice through defense. They also are playing to his gunslinger ways, trading for two deep-ball threats in Chase Claypool and now, DJ Moore.
A Work In Progress
What remains to be seen, though, is Fields' improvement on nearly every other pass type. The Bears QB is excellent at throwing the ball downfield, but his short-to-intermediate game is still, well, bad. Fields routinely misses easy passes or sometimes ignores open men. Fields acknowledges that this is something that he needs to improve on, but actions speak louder than words. We will need to see results on the field before being convinced.
This season is Fields' official audition for the Bears' franchise QB role: perform above expectations, and he'll be given the keys to the franchise. Struggle, and his seat will become unbearably warm as Caleb Williams looms on the horizon.
Still, there's reason for Bears fans to be optimistic for the 2023 season. Title contention is not quite in the cards yet, but a clean playoff berth would be a success for this team. Moore's arrival allows Claypool and returning Bear Darnell Mooney to move to their more natural positions on the depth chart. They also have a couple of high draft picks to play with this year, along with some significant cap space. They have the tools to further fix their other issues (pass protection for Fields and replenishing their depleted defense.
This is now Fields' time to shine. With DJ Moore by his side, can he lead the Bears to the promised land?
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