The Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers pulled off a stunning trade involving the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, but one of the more overlooked parts of the deal was that DJ Moore was sent to the Bears from the Panthers as part of this deal. Moore is one of the most consistent top-tier wide receivers in the NFL, and should help out the Bears greatly moving forward.
Moore has been caught up in the quarterback chaos in Carolina to start his career, but posted three-straight 1100 yard receivers seasons from 2019-2021. The Panthers ugly QB situation proved to be too much for Moore to extend that streak in 2022, but his numbers showed that he's still one of the best pass-catchers in the game, even with poor quarterback play (63 REC, 888 YDS, 7 TD).
Moore's addition to the Bears will be huge for quarterback Justin Fields, but it will also be huge for fantasy football owners who have been looking for Moore to truly take the next step forward as a producer for them. So with this trade in the books, let's take a look at three bold fantasy football predictions for Moore in 2023.
3. DJ Moore's fantasy football draft stock will drop ahead of fantasy drafts
Moore has made due with some poor quarterbacks throughout his career, and while Fields isn't a bad passer, the Bears offense is a run-heavy unit that didn't really have any consistent wide receivers last season. Tight end Cole Kmet was the only playable fantasy football option (50 REC, 544 YDS, 7 TD) but even then, most of his production came in two or three big games.
Darnell Mooney was supposed to be this offense's top wide receiver option after posting a 1000 yard campaign in 2021, but he fell victim to the Fields effect in 2022 (40 REC, 493 YDS, 2 TD) putting together a massively disappointing season. Moore's numbers have suffered before, but there's a chance that they could fall even further given Fields' unpredictability as a passer.
As a result of the rough passing campaign that the Bears are coming off of, it seems likely that Moore's draft stock will initially take a hit. We saw this team trade for Chase Claypool at the trade deadline and completely fail to utilize him, so it's fair to wonder whether something similar will happen with Moore here. He's still a top target, but he won't be coming off the boards as early as initially expected.
2. DJ Moore will set a career-high for single-season touchdowns
Up until 2022, it had been pretty notable that, despite Moore's high-end production, he was struggling to consistently find his way into the end zone for the Panthers. That changed in 2022, when Moore scored seven touchdowns, which was easily a career-high considering how he had four scores in three straight seasons.
If there's one thing we saw in 2022 it's that the Bears offense can be a lethal unit in the red zone, thanks in large part to the threat of Fields on the ground. This forces the defense to make some tough decisions, and that should open up Moore for an abundance of scoring opportunities throughout the season.
Scoring eight touchdowns is no easy feat, but the Bears went out and got Moore, so now they need to make use of him. He will obviously be Fields' top target in the passing game, but expect him to be a key piece of their red zone game plan as well. When all is said and done, Moore will easily surpass his career-high of seven touchdowns in his debut season with the Bears.
1. DJ Moore will finish the 2023 season as a top 15 wide receiver
All throughout his career, Moore has been a top 20 wide receiver who seemingly has the talent to be a top 15 or top 10 guy. The problem has always been poor quarterbacking. If Moore was catching passes from one of the top guys in the league, it would seemingly allow him to reach his full potential.
This isn't to say Fields is one of the top passers in the NFL, because he isn't. Fields barely eclipsed 2000 passing yards in 2022 (he did miss two games) and the Bears offense was a complete mess. The only thing keeping them together was their ground game, but even then that was not enough for them to avoid finishing with the worst record in all of football.
There are a lot of question marks surrounding Chicago's offense, but the expectation is that Moore will see quite a few targets moving forward. He may not be overly consistent, but if he can continue to excel in all three phases of the field, and find his way into the end zone, Moore will finish the 2023 season as a top 15 scoring wide receiver in the fantasy football world.
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