Bears WR DJ Moore is a Model of Consistency

Bears DJ Moore

By the end of Chicago Bears practice on Sunday, one thing remained true: wide receiver DJ Moore is consistent.

DJ Moore’s Consistency Bodes Well for Bears

DJ Moore: ‘Just Gotta Play Fast’

Everything in training camp gets overblown. Players that make plays are going to be the next big thing. Those that don’t are surely on their way out of town if not out of the league entirely.

Still, Moore’s name has been said repeatedly throughout the early going as he is a playmaker. On one play, in particular, Moore lined up across from cornerback Kindle Vildor. The former had the latter beaten. But the throw from quarterback Justin Fields was late arriving. That was a relative rarity on a day when the offense looked particularly smooth getting into and out of every operation.

The pass was incomplete, falling harmlessly to the ground after bouncing off of Vildor’s back/out of Moore’s grasp. But a pass interference penalty was called setting the Bears up in a goal-to-go situation.

“You just gotta play fast,” Moore said. “When they a half a second too late, it’s going to be a pass interference because I’m playing fast no matter what.”

Consistency.

Rookie Tyler Scott spoke about Moore’s consistency in his route running. A technician, Moore drew praise from his teammate for not tipping his hand on what route he is running coming off the line of scrimmage.

“I could watch one play and think, ‘Oh, he’s about to run a in route and it did not look like an in route,” Scott said on the “Under Center Podcast” on July 5. “Or he’s about to run a different route, but it looks exactly how it did before you know so he just knows how to…make everything look the same.”

While Moore says it’s not a skill to draw penalties, the Bears need all the help they can get.

They tied for dead last in the NFL, benefitting from just three defensive pass interference calls all season, per NFLPenalties.com. They also ranked 30th in total beneficial calls. Ironically, the Carolina Panthers – where Moore played for the last five years – tied for the third-fewest DPI calls going their way.

But Moore is stepping into what is arguably a more complete wide receiver room than the one he left. He is certainly coming to play with the most talented quarterback he’s been paired with, save for Cam Newton’s final (mostly) healthy season in Carolina in 2018.

DJ Moore Proved Adaptable in Carolina

And yet, he took off after Newton left town. Moore went from 788 yards as a rookie to 1,175 in his sophomore season.

That second year was the first of three consecutive 1,000-yard campaigns i.e. consistency.

Last season, as the Panthers cycled through three different quarterbacks, the former No. 24 overall pick, Moore, fell a mere 112 yards shy of his fourth straight season surpassing the century mark in receiving yards. He did set a new career high with seven receiving touchdowns, though.

His experience in Carolina may have played a part in his being able to adapt so quickly to a new situation. Moving from Carolina to the “bigger stage” of Chicago, as Moore said, would test anyone’s resolve, though.

Instead, he has been an instant hit with his coaches, fans, and teammates not the least of which being Fields with whom he connected for a score later on in the day.

The rave reviews don’t figure to be stopping anytime soon (more consistency for Moore). Not with the Bears’ first preseason game right around the corner on August 12. And the regular season is not too far behind.