The start of the Chicago Bears season has been a disaster, about as bad as any fan could have thought. However, while there are not many positives to take away, some positive developments can still raise optimism for this year or the years moving ahead.
Which players have given the Bears some excitement, and who has lived up to expectations?
3. D.J. Moore is legitimately good for the Chicago Bears
The addition of D.J. Moore is now going underrated because of how overrated the move was this offseason. Fans and media saw this as the A.J. Brown addition and something that would turn Justin Fields into Jalen Hurts. They thought the offense would be unstoppable because of this addition.
That has not happened, but Moore has been everything we expected him to be. He did not get the ball much in week one, but when he did, he put up two first downs back-to-back on one of the Bears' few scoring drives. In week two, they wanted to force him the ball more, and it worked.
D.J. Moore ended up with 104 yards, and 3.06 yards per route run, and an elite rate. He has 129 yards this season, leading the team by a wide margin. Cole Kmet has 82, and Khalil Herbert has 60. The next closest wide receiver is 53 yards. DJ Moore is doubling up his teammates.
Moore has 30% of Justin Fields' passing production. This is what we thought Moore would be doing, we just thought that Darnel Mooney would be healthy and Chase Claypool would be better. We also thought Justin Fields would be better. The fact that Moore looks so good, and Fields still does not look better may be telling us what we need to know about Fields. That is disappointing, but Moore has been everything you could ask for.
2. Cole Kmet is about to have a career-year for the Chicago Bears
As we noted, Cole Kmet is the number two wide receiver, and right now, it is not close. With 44 yards in week one and 38 yards in week two, he is not relying on a big game or busted play, either. He has been consistent as a pass catcher, and this is exactly what the Bears need out of him. He is averaging 1.28 yards per route run, a slight uptick from 1.18, which is his career rate.
He is also averaging 41 yards per game, which is up from the 28.5 yards per game he produced in the first three seasons with the Bears. Last season, he was averaging 32 yards per game. This is a very small sample but an encouraging one as well.
Kmet is a solid blocker but is improving as a pass catcher. He is only 24 years, and the best play was always going to be ahead of him. Now, the Bears have him locked down, and he should be a reliable threat no matter what happens around him. This goes back to Ryan Pace drafting him, but Ryan Poles extended him. A good move in a sea of questionable ones.
1. Darnell Wright has been a positive for the Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears taking Darnell Wright over Jalen Carter will be debated for a while. While the team needs some defensive line help, there are also enough positives from Wright that it is hard to get too bent out of shape over it.
Wright has been the Chicago Bears best offensive lineman through two weeks, and I do not think anyone would even think to debate that. That probably says more about the Chicago Bears line than it does Wright, but Wright has not been a disappointment so far.
All pass pro snaps from #Bears Darnell Wright’s second NFL game. pic.twitter.com/Qj3GEoHMjy
— ImBearingDown (@ImBearingDown) September 18, 2023
There is a lot to build off of here. Finding tackles is one of the hardest things to do in all of football, not just for the Chicago Bears.
They still have questions on the left side, but to feel good about the right side is huge. When you consider the scheme that Wright came from should cause time to adjust, and this is just his second NFL game, there has to be a high ceiling baked into the potential of Darnell Wright with the Chicago Bears.