This Chicago Bears' playmaker could have a career-year in 2024

D.J. Moore just compiled a career year in his first NFL season with the Chicago Bears. Moore had a career-high 96 catches for 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns. The odds of him continuing that pace may not be high considering this is the best we have seen. When you add that the Bears will now have many more weapons, a lot of people are going to be projecting a drop in stats for Moore. 

Chicago Bears have not seen the best of D.J. Moore yet

However, there is an argument against this. 

First, the Chicago Bears are going to throw the ball a lot more. Yes, Caleb Williams is a rookie, but this is not a typical rookie. More than that, the offense could not get more run-heavy than they did under Justin Fields. The addition of the pass catchers can speak to where this team is heading. Justin Fields threw the ball a career-high 370 times last year. C.J. Stroud had 499 attempts as a rookie. Expect the Bears to throw the ball closer to 500 times than 400 times. 

An extra couple of new pass catchers do not kill your stats when you have 100 extra targets to be spread out. Even more than that, Moore has a chance to be more productive on those targets. 

The offense was all about Moore, and all attention went to him. There were a few games where he was wiped away by the attention of the defense. That will not happen this year. Moore also will work more of the intermediate areas of the field, and the Bears will allow him to be in spots where he can run after the catch further down the field. The attention drawn towards the other players will give Moore more space to get open, and then run after the catch. 

Because of Justin Fields, the team had to rely on Moore in the short game and screen game. He hit deep shots to Moore, but the intermediate was not there, and Moore excelled there in Carolina. 

Williams is simply a better passer in this area and will throw with more anticipation. The easy argument is more targets to spread out means less production. However, a more efficient quarterback and offensive system can just as easily replace those targets with higher-quality production.