Yardbarker
x

Bears receiver DJ Moore is among the last people to let out any personal goals.

Moore didn't even want to attract attention to himself over the weekend at a Cubs game outing with teammates when all the cameras were following around Caleb Williams. So he sat in the back out of sight.

However, he was willing to let slip some goals for this season when he made an appearance on FanDuel TV's Up and Adams with Kay Adams.

"Just making the playoffs, 10 wins; having 1,000 yards could come second," Moore said.

If it seems like a low bar for a receiver who had 1,364 yards last year on 96 receptions, it probably is. However, when you throw in Rome Odunze, Keenan Allen and Gerald Everett as potential receivers, and add a back who has made it a habit of contributing as a receiver like D'Andre Swift has, it's going to make bigger numers tougher to achieve.

BEARS PASSING HISTORY SHOULD BE WITHIN REACH OF CALEB WILLIAMS AND ROME ODUNZE

WHY TO EXPECT BEARS AS PRIME-TIME PLAYERS IN NFL SCHEDULE RELEASE

WHERE BEARS RECEIVER TRIO REALLY RANKS AMONG NFL'S BEST

"We all eat," Moore said. "I feel like it's going to be a race to 1,000 between the receivers in the room. It should be amazing."

It wouldn't be an unfamiliar situation for Moore, although different in Chicago.

At Carolina as a rookie, he had to split time getting targets with Curtis Samuel and Devin Funchess and tight ends Greg Olsen and Ian Thomas. They also had 124 targets go to Christian McCaffrey.

Then it was splitting catches with Samuel and the receiver formerly known as Robbie Anderson, and now Robbie Chosen. Anderson had 136 targets and Moore 118 in their first year together, and they still found a way to target Samuel 97 times.

Eventually Moore's steady and quiet style won out but then the trade to the Bears came and he took over a receiver corps badly in need of a No. 1.

Moore told Adams it could develop quickly into a three-pronged receiver attack because of what he saw from Rome Odunze when they worked out together with Allen and Caleb Williams away from Halas Hall in predraft.

"He's got that smoothness to him when we worked out," Moore said. "I seen it a little bit. So I can't wait for him to get here and show some more."

There are a few more aspects key to the distribution of the ball to these three receivers. One is offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, and Moore said he saw enough from the new Bears OC with the Seahawks to think he'll be trying to find a balance.

"'Cause I seen the way he distributed the ball throughout Seattle and then his ways of doing it here are going to be amazing," Moore said.

Last year with D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the Seattle wide receiver corps, the ball went 122 times to Lockett, 119 to Metcalf and 93 times to Smith-Njigba. They even had enough balance to distribute it between three tight ends, a swell. None of them had more than 43 targets or less than 22.

"Some more excitement out of it," Moore told Adams. "You know, you got people on the field you can't just double-team or somebody else is going to be open making it a game for themselves."

Moore is anticipating more man-to-man coverage and less double-teams or other zone tactics because of the influx of receivers. It reminds Moore of the Thursday night game when he got single coverage much of the night against Washington and went off for eight catches, 230 yards and three touchdowns.

"Any one of us us could go off and have a game like that if you put man-to-man on us," he said.

The other aspect of that balance is the new QB, Williams.

Moore experienced some of Williams' throws in a predraft workout with Allen and Odunze participating. One thing in particular struck Moore.

"His anticipation," Moore told Adams. "I think i said that recently. We was working out, he had the ball right there on the money before you even turn around."

The rookie passer and receiver will need to prove themselves, he said.

"Yeah, you gotta earn it through the dog days, but we all know that they can play," Moore said. "We just got to see it when they're tired and everything."

If it's there, the chance for numerous personal goals and team goals are possible.

This article first appeared on Bear Digest and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

+

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.