The Chicago Bears faced a defining moment of their season. Green Bay held grimly to a 16-9 lead. There were just seconds remaining. It was 4th down and 4. It was six yards to the end zone. Caleb Williams had one last chance to keep the Bears’ hopes alive. The ball was snapped. The Packers called a full-house blitz, getting a rusher unblocked off the left side. Williams waited, retreated, and then lofted the ball towards the back right corner of the end zone. Many felt he’d overthrown it. Then, undrafted rookie receiver Jahdae Walker, completely uncovered, skied up to get it for the game-tying touchdown.
Everything about the play was unexpected. Many thought the obvious decision was going to D.J. Moore or Colston Loveland, who’ve been great red zone targets in those situations. Ben Johnson could’ve even drawn up a play where Williams used his legs. Instead, he had the confidence to call a play that gave an untested rookie an opportunity for a signature moment. No one saw it coming.
Except maybe Williams himself.
Walker revealed on Monday during his presser that the Bears quarterback randomly started bringing him in for private workouts midway through the season. The receiver wasn’t sure why and didn’t ask any questions. Hearing this makes you wonder if Williams knew that moment was coming.
“And I feel like our relationship just building from all the way from camp, just running through routes and going through routes and just, I don’t know, like it was one game, I forget what game it was, but he had texted me. He was like, after the game, he was like, ‘What you doing?’ I was like, ‘Heading back home.’ He was like, ‘Could you meet me in the indoor?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I ain’t play. Like I can meet you there.’ And we went to the indoor and we were there for like three to four hours, just throwing routes, running through routes, just, he was working on his scramble drill, throwing and that showed me how much of a leader he is and how much he cares about his processing, his work ethic and how he performs and the way he prepares for each game. Like, it’s crazy.”
There is likely one reason Williams kept Jahdae Walker ready.
He knew there was going to come a point where the Bears’ coaching staff would shake up the wide receiver situation. Why? An educated guess is that he sensed one of his teammates would fall out of favor. That was Olamide Zaccheaus. The veteran free agent signing had a great training camp, but it became apparent as the season unfolded that he was unreliable. Williams’ epiphany moment likely came after either the win over Washington in week six or the win over New York in week ten. Zacchaeus had two dropped passes in both of those games.
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One thing Jahdae Walker proved throughout the preseason was that he had reliable hands in big moments. Williams wasn’t going to openly campaign for Zacchaeus to be replaced. That isn’t what leaders do. He knew it would be up to the coaches to make that decision. However, what he could do was start preparing Walker for the eventual moment he’d get his chance. Sure enough, after another brutal drop by Zaccheaus against Green Bay, the rookie’s time arrived.
He didn’t disappoint.
