There were 20 receivers voted by players onto the NFL Network’s top 100 list.
The Bears’ DJ Moore, who finished sixth in receiving yards last year, wasn’t one of them.
“I know I’m top-10,” he said this week. “But will it be known? Will the league say anything about it? No. Will I be on lists? Probably not.”
“Do I care? No.”
He does have his theories why.
“I don’t dance, I don’t TikTok,” he said. “I’m not about to go out there and do the extra stuff [receivers] do.”
Moore doesn’t shy away from attention, as evidenced by his family’s star turn on “Hard Knocks.” But he’s just as happy to blend in with the team.
“I’m not one of those people that does all the antics,” he said. “Like, if y’all catch me and y’all see me out [at practice] doing little silly stuff, I’m not going to do that on a major stage on ‘Sunday Night [Football].’ That’s not me. I do it with my teammates. I’m not going to go out there and look crazy.”
The 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk, who finished one slot below Moore in receiving yards last year, spent the preseason in a “hold-in” before signing an extension this week. The Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase had his own hold-in but has yet to ink a deal. He said Friday, using colorful language, that he wanted to beat the contract that the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson just signed.
Moore, by comparison, is remarkably low-maintenance.
“He doesn’t walk around like he makes $27.5 million a year,” receiver Tyler Scott said.
But he does. The Bears’ decision to give him a four-year, $110 million contract extension last month shows that the franchise appreciates Moore for all that he is — and isn’t.
Since general manager Ryan Poles traded the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft for Moore and a haul of picks, the receiver has done all they’ve asked. He’s been a captain two years in a row.
That’s a better outcome than Poles got when he traded for Chase Claypool, who yapped and loafed his way out of town after just 10 games.
“That goes down to the selection process that we have,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “I think we’ve done a good job. I know we’ve made a couple mistakes … but I would say that we’ve been pretty good about bringing guys in that are good teammates that love football — and of course when you can get guys like DJ that are ultra-talented, captain, leader, he’s a great example and a great model for everybody else.”
When the Bears take the field Sunday against the Titans, Moore will be one of the few familiar faces in their skill position group. Entering his second season with the franchise, he’s somehow the Bears’ longest-tenured receiver; the team traded for veteran Keenan Allen and drafted rookie Rome Odunze this offseason and drafted Scott a month after the Moore trade. Moore has been with the Bears longer than two of the team’s three tight ends; three of their five running backs, including starter D’Andre Swift; and all their quarterbacks.
All that new talent could cut into Moore’s target share — but a new contract, signed a full two seasons before the last one would have expired, will ease that pain. So would winning — he’s finished with a losing record in all six seasons with the Panthers and Bears, winning only 36 of 99 games.
He’s optimistic this season — and appropriately hesitant to jinx anything.
“At the end of the year, we’ll know if that anticipation was correct or wrong … ” Moore said. “Hopefully, it’s on the winning side and we’re in the postseason. And we can have this conversation smiling.”