DJ Moore Need Not Be Bears Solo Act
One of the more fascinating aspects of the Bears offense to project for this year is division of labor within the wide receiver group.
They're putting together two receivers who were already in Chicago with DJ Moore and the obvious question is how the ball gets distributed.
In the end, this will be on Justin Fields and his ability to quickly pick out who's getting open. However, it's apparent from looking at the fantasy football projections and ratings for the coming season that expectations are for the Justin and DJ Show, with the other two wide receivers popping in for a guest appearance every now and then.
It's not expected to be an even distribution of targets, but it doesn't have to be this way simply because of the type of receiver Moore has been.
How this all goes down with receivers aside from Moore will be the point of interest because both Mooney and Claypool are up for contract extensions. Fewer catches for them could mean less cash.
Fantasy Meets Reality
Sports Illustrated's fantasy football expert Michael Fabiano has Claypool coming out the clear loser in sheer production as he is ranked 185th for fantasy purposes among all fantasy players and 71st among wide receivers. Mooney is 129th overall and 54th among receivers. Most projections by fantasy sites are similar on those two receivers.
In fact, both receivers are ranked for fantasy purposes by Fabiano as well behind backs Khalil Herbert (110th) and D'Onta Foreman (126th). This doesn't say much for Mooney and Claypool because they are behind two running backs who are in a crowded backfield situation and are unlikely to have enough carries to hold those rankings -- especially with Fields sure to take up carries.
Whatever happens, the past indicates Moore is able to adapt to almost any situation. He did it in Carolina. He doesn't need to be the main receiver, but his skill set is so good it seems unlikely either of the other two would be able to take away that status.
Last year Moore had to carry the Carolina receiver corps and it took the next three wide receivers combined to surpass his 63 receptions and his 888 receiving yards. The other receivers were Terrace Marshall Jr., Laviska Shenault Jr. and Shi Smith and they had 77 combined receptions, just 14 more than Moore.
In 2021, Moore again pulled down the top duty and the next three wideouts combined didn't even reach his total of 93 catches and 1,157 yards. That group included the receiver formerly known as Robbie Anderson, and now known as Chosen Anderson. Chosen made 53 receptions for 519 yards that year.
However, Moore has shown he doesn't need to be THE guy. In 2020, Moore had 29 fewer catches than Anderson with 66, but he had 97 more yards with 1,193. The interesting thing about that season was Moore wasn't even second among receivers in catches. Curtis Samuel had 77 for 851 yards.
Just Get Open
The Carolina quarterback situation in that 2020 season was more stable than in others with the Panthers because they had Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback instead of a mix of various players who'd been rejected elsewhere like the past two years. Bridgewater's situation had been more one of injuries setting back his career than being rejected by other teams.
Moore isn't the type to demand the ball is the bottom line here.
If Claypool and Mooney want more catches, all they need to do is get open. It could be for the Bears and their passing attack the way it was for Moore, Anderson and Samuel in 2020. Three receivers put up big numbers and the ball moved all over the field.
If they don't get open, it will have to be like 2021 or 2022 when the Panthers had Moore and no one else provided much help in the wide receiver corps.
For these reasons, it wouldn't be shocking if GM Ryan Poles held off on contract extensions for a while. It's better to let receivers prove their desire to be a part of the future receiver group led by Moore.
