Tyson Bagent has become the best story of the Chicago Bears’ 2023 preseason. Fans became intrigued after some nice plays against the Tennessee Titans in the opener. His accurate passing stood out. However, that intrigue turned to excitement last Saturday when Bagent executed a clinical 92-yard, 17-play drive against the Indianapolis Colts for a touchdown. He didn’t look like an undrafted rookie at that moment. Bagent looked like someone in complete control of everything. The fans saw it. The Bears coaches saw it. His teammates saw it too. Darnell Mooney was one of them.
The wide receiver watched the entire drive from the sidelines. However, he also had a somewhat unique perspective on how it all unfolded. Mooney explained during his press conference on Tuesday.
“He was calm. Super calm. He was electric. I mean just looking at him with the quick game just getting the ball out wherever he wanted to go. That’s where he was going. He wasn’t indecisive. He was very understanding of what he wanted to do. It was beautiful to watch. I had the headset on. I know what play was going on. Definitely beautiful to watch for sure, especially from him.”
Mooney actually listened to the communication between Bagent and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy throughout the drive. He saw the rookie executing the plays and making audibles at the line of scrimmage. There were a few times when he killed plays based on the looks he got from the defense. Most of them were the exact right decisions.
Darnell Mooney makes a key point here.
It would be one thing if Bagent rode a consistent rushing attack and simply made a couple of nice throws on that drive. Plenty of rookies can do that. What stood out was how surgical the kid was. He made every pass on time, on target, and to the correct read. You expect that from a guy who has played three or more years in the league. Bagent barely played a couple of series the week before. Prior to that, his only action outside of college was some work in the Senior Bowl.
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What Darnell Mooney suggests here is that the rookie already has a deep mastery of the Bears’ offensive language. He felt comfortable making checks at the line, executing flawlessly within the system. As a result, he diced up the Colts’ secondary while feeding Roschon Johnson to keep them off balance. It was the most well-executed drive of the preseason by a wide margin. Maybe that means nothing, or maybe it means something. Bears fans are now convinced the team would be foolish to cut Bagent next week.
Mooney appears to agree.
