DJ Moore has four 1,000-yard seasons. Keenan Allen has six. Rome Odunze had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons the past two seasons at the University of Washington.
That’s the Bears’ top three receivers, making them arguably the top trio in football.
“You’ve got Keenan, Rome. You’ve got Velus [Jones Jr.]. You’ve got Tyler [Scott],” Moore said Thursday, via Gabby Hajduk of the team website. “You got endless playmakers in there. It’s probably going to be a race to 1,000 [yards] now. I don’t know who’s going to get there first, but it’s going to be a race.”
When a reporter asked Moore if he considered himself “the favorite” to get to 1,000 yards first, Moore cracked a joke.
“There’s no betting going on. You can’t do that,” Moore said with a smile to end the news conference.
Moore likely was referring to the trouble that rookies Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers found themselves in when Nabers revealed the former LSU teammates had a $10,000 bet on offensive rookie of the year honors. After being “educated” on the NFL’s betting polices, the players called off the bet.
The Bears are a good bet to finish better than they did last season.
Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick, is the first rookie quarterback to have two 1,000-yard receivers and a 1,000-yard rusher. Running back D’Andre Swift had his first career 1,000-yard season in 2023, rushing for 1,049 with the Eagles.
But with Williams, Swift, Allen and Odunze all new faces to the offense, the Bears have much work left to do this offseason.
“You’ve got to get that connection down with Caleb and with everybody, even Rome and the whole room,” Moore said. “The whole offense just wants to be around each other and build that bond, the relationships that we had last year, and form it with new people.”