DJ Moore wasn’t ready to embrace the idea of Chicago drafting Caleb Williams. He felt the Bears already had a good thing going with Justin Fields. The former quarterback finished 2023 playing some of his best football. Moore had the best season of his career. Why ruin a good thing? Still, GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus felt a change was needed. The passing game wasn’t progressing nearly enough to make this team competitive. That is why they eventually settled on taking Williams #1 overall.
Fast-forward a few months, and Moore has completely changed his tune. He is now a huge supporter of the rookie, believing he has the talent and mental capacity to be something special for the organization. Kevin Fishbain and Adam Jahns of The Athletic caught a quote from the wide receiver that stood out.
“I never see him down after a certain play. Just having that short-term memory is real short-term with him. He’ll let the play go and then when we go to the sideline, bring it up, go through the whole thing. That’s unique. If a quarterback can remember all the plays that he ran and the ones he messed up for sure, we’ve got something special.”
That quote is noteworthy. If anybody has followed NFL history, they almost certainly would’ve heard it once or twice when people describe great quarterbacks. One example is former New York Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi describing Hall of Fame legend Johnny Unitas that way.
Everybody loves referencing the Notre Dame game last year as a sign of the quarterback’s deficiencies. Poles actually saw it as a sign that Williams was made for the NFL. The Irish intercepted him three times in the first half, building a 24-3 lead. Yet the quarterback was undaunted. He led a field goal drive to close out the half, and then produced two touchdown drives in the 3rd quarter to chew into Notre Dame’s lead. Unfortunately, a kickoff return score and a fumble by Trojans receiver Mario Williams that was returned for a TD killed their comeback hopes.
Yes, Williams bore a lot of responsibility for that loss, but it’s not like he didn’t fight back to make it a game. DJ Moore and others can plainly see that never-say-die mentality in him. No wonder they’re so excited about what’s to come. Williams will have his growing pains. That much is inevitable. It is how the NFL works. His key is to take it one play at a time and not dwell on the mistakes. By all accounts, that won’t be an issue in the coming months.
