Last season didn't go especially well for anyone attached to the Chicago Bears. D.J. Moore actually had two more catches than he did in his first year as a Bear (98), but he failed to reach 1,000 yards (966) as the turnstile of play callers pigeonholed him into a low ADOT (7.5) and ultimately low-impact role (9.9 yards per catch).
The idea was surely to get the ball into Moore's hands as much as possible, with a struggling offensive line no help in terms of downfield passing, but then there's overdoing it. According to Fantasy Points he had a league-high 41 designed targets last season--15 more than second place.
Moore was too-openly frustrated at times last soon, but he's lined up to benefit greatly from competent coaching now being in place to guide the Bears' offense. An offseason deep dive certainly showed head coach Ben Johnson how most everyone was not being used in an optimal way last year, with Moore high on that list.
With nowhere to go but up in virtually every respect this side of sheer reception total, Moore is easy to tab as a bounce-back candidate for 2025. Simply having the same primary quarterback two years in a row would be something new for his career.
League evaluators give D.J. Moore some extra motivation for 2025
ESPN is rolling out it's position-by-position rankings for 2025, as league executives, coaches and scouts are surveyed to determine a final top-10, etc. This year's wide receiver rankings came out on Wednesday, and Moore not being in the top-10 is no surprise after last season.
What about an honorable mention, like he got last year? No dice there either, again rooted in to how last season went for himself and the Bears.
Moore did land in the "others receiving votes" category though, like he did going into his first season as a Bear in 2023. He then set career-highs in catches (96, which he surpassed last year), yards (1,364) and touchdowns (eight) that season.
By all accounts Moore is taking well to the coaching change and what Johnson is demanding from players. In general he probably already sees this year as something of a fresh start, and an opportunity to re-establish himself as one of the most underrated wide receivers in the NFL.
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Anonymous polls being what they are, and as much he may care about them, Moore now has some extra motivation for 2025 if he chooses to find it.