Getty Wide receiver DJ Moore (left) and quarterback Justin Fields (right) of the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears are a good bet to select USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the top pick in the NFL draft, but he won’t arrive in the Windy City absent critique.
Wide receiver DJ Moore spoke Monday, February 26, about the 2024 QB class, which draft experts and football analysts across the nation have lauded as one of the most talented in recent memory. Moore was less complimentary, however, particularly when comparing the young signal-callers to Chicago’s current starting quarterback Justin Fields.
𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚: #Bears wide receiver DJ Moore says that none of the top quarterbacks in this year’s draft class can compare to Justin Fields.
“I still don’t think they compare to Justin right now. The relationship jelled real well from the beginning,” Moore said about forming…
“I still don’t think they compare to Justin right now,” Moore said, per JPAFootball on X.
The wideout added details of his relationship with Fields, which helped Moore find his footing in Chicago and produce a career year highlighted by 96 receptions for 1,364 yards and TDs — all of which were personal bests.
“The relationship [gelled] real well from the beginning,” Moore continued. “Since I got traded, he was in contact and we started throwing together, so it made the transition into games and everything easy.”
GM Ryan Poles Says Bears Will ‘Do Right’ by QB Justin Fields
GettyQuarterback Justin Fields (left) and wide receiver DJ Moore (right) of the Chicago Bears.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles spoke with reporters at the NFL Combine on Tuesday, though he did not announce a definitive plan for the No. 1 pick or Fields’ future. However, he did say that the team intends to “do right” by its starting QB of the past three years.
“Again, it just depends on what opportunities pop up,” Poles said. “I think you guys know me well enough now. If we do go down that road, I want to do right by Justin as well. No one wants to live in the gray. I know that’s uncomfortable. I wouldn’t want to be in that situation, either.”
Poles also addressed the unsolicited support Fields has garnered from his teammates again and again this offseason, with Moore leading the public charge on several occasions.
“He’s a leader. Everything our guys have said is true,” Poles said. “[I am] not surprised that our guys have said what they have said. I feel the same way.”
Bears Must Weigh Historic Trade Haul Against Caleb Williams’ Potential
GettyUSC quarterback Caleb Williams.
Poles’ decision will ultimately come down to what he believes he can flip the No. 1 pick into via a trade (or multiple trades) against Williams’ potential. In seven years, draft analysts have described no prospect with as much reverence as Williams, who many have compared to three-time Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN outright disagreed with Moore’s take when he authored his first mock draft on January 23 and predicted the Bears will select Williams.
“Williams is a better prospect than Fields,” Kiper wrote. “Williams, my top-ranked prospect, is ahead of Fields as a passer. The USC product has the skill set and instincts to be a top-tier quarterback at the next level.”
The Bears passed on CJ Stroud last year, who went on to win the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and competed in the MVP Race. Given that, and the fact that Chicago can reset the QB contract clock and start a potentially elite player at the game’s most important position on a rookie deal for the next several years, Poles’ hands are all but tied.
As such, it is probably just a matter of time before Fields is leading a locker room somewhere other than Chicago, whether Moore and the rest of the roster like it or not.