The Chicago Bears knew they needed to make sure their next quarterback had the best chance to have immediate success when they arrived next month. To do that, it required stacking the offensive with viable pass catchers. While DJ Moore and Cole Kmet were solid as a pairing last year, GM Ryan Poles felt another addition was necessary to bring everything together. So he swung a surprise trade with the Los Angeles Chargers for six-time Pro Bowler Keenan Allen, fresh off one of his best seasons in 2023.
Though Allen will be 32 years old this season, nobody believes he will be less effective anytime soon. He is such a technician as a route runner that he isn’t at the mercy of diminishing athletic ability compared to other receivers. Moore seems to understand this and is excited about what the star should bring to the table. At the same time, Moore is a competitor. He has no intention of letting Allen hog the football. So he decided to issue a challenge during his interview on Mully & Haugh for 670 The Score.
“It doesn’t really matter to me. I know we’ve both talked about how we’re going to complement each other. So I’m just looking forward to that. It might be a race to 1,000 (yards), but that’s just a friendly competition. At the end of the day, if we’re winning, whoever is catching the ball, I don’t really care.”
DJ Moore is no stranger to this tactic.
He’s employed it before to great effect. In 2020, he threw down the challenge to teammate Robbie Anderson in Carolina. Both of them ended up cracking the 1,000-yard barrier, helping Teddy Bridgewater have the highest passing total of his career. If Moore can accomplish this with a career third or fourth-option guy like Anderson, there is no telling what could happen with a stud like Allen. Away from each other, they combined for over 2500 receiving yards last season. Together, with defenses unable to double either of them, it will be borderline unfair.
Once again, DJ Moore is proving why he was such an incredible acquisition for the Bears. Not only is he a tremendous player on the field, but he’s proving to be an excellent teammate and leader off it. He’s welcomed Allen with open arms and already has people focusing on what could be accomplished this season. Whoever the quarterback ends up being will have an easy time of it right out of the gate. Poles deserves credit for making all of this possible.
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I just wish Justin Fields had the weapons the new quarterback is going to have. Either way GO BEARS!