The NFL off-season has been nothing short of excitement for Bears fans all across the league with the moves that Ryan Poles has made to improve the team. One of the biggest off-season additions that was made by the Bears was the trade for D.J. Moore. Moore is entering Chicago as a talented Wide-receiver to pair up with Justin Fields, so here’s why I think D.J. Moore can be a top 10 Wide-receiver in 2023.
The Talent
D.J. Moore is known as one of the most underrated wide-receivers in the NFL. His talent has not been as highly noted because of poor QB play over the years. To put it in perspective, Moore has been catching footballs from Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, P.J. Walker, and Teddy Bridgewater over the years. Although there was poor QB play in North Carolina, this did not stop D.J. Moore as he was able to put up over 700 yards per season, including multiple 1,000 yard seasons over the years. D.J Moore’s has a total of 5,752 all purpose yards in his tenure in North Carolina, which is more career yards than any wide-receiver that has played for the Bears. Just because D.J. Moore was not surrounded by a productive team does not mean that he was able to showcase his talent over the years.
A New Scenery
As I previously mentioned, D.J. Moore was not in a good situation in North Carolina. The team was in a constant QB carousel which never led to a good outcome. The only stars of the team on the offensive side of the ball were Christian McCaffrey (who got traded to the 49ers) and D.J. Moore (who got traded to the Bears). When it came to the Panthers, it was always a rebuild / tanking team that did not really have a clear path to a winning future. By trading D.J. Moore, the Panthers were able to draft Bryce Young with the 1st overall pick, and the Bears get Justin Fields a clear #1 wide-receiver. For D.J. Moore it was time for him to find a new home after multiple seasons in North Carolina as he was one of the few positives on the Panthers that played meaningful football and him getting traded to the Bears is the fresh start he needs. Moore is going to be surrounded by an organization that is going to be dedicated towards creating a winning culture with great leadership and a promising young QB in Justin Fields.
Justin Fields
As previously stated, D.J. Moore never had a consistent starting QB in his time with North Carolina. The constant QB carousel over the years has been a bigger discussion than D.J. Moore’s production. The biggest reason why D.J. Moore got traded to Chicago was to give Justin Fields as much help as he needed. It is going to be Justin Fields’ 3rd season in the NFL and the reason I bring that up is because over the years, young and talented QB’s in their third year of the NFL have gotten their star receiver in the off-season. Take a look at Josh Allen With Stefon Diggs, Jalen Hurts with A.J. Brown, and Tua Tagovailoa with Tyreek Hill. Each of these pairings have led to a big leap for each of these QB’s in their third year of the NFL (Before Tua’s injuries this season, he was producing at a high level). These leaps have led Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts to be top 10 QB’s in the NFL, as well as making Stefon Diggs and A.J. Brown top 10 wide-receivers in the NFL. I absolutely believe that the same is going to hopefully happen with Justin Fields and D.J. Moore.
Do I think D.J. Moore will be a top 10 wide-receiver?
After all the points that I have brought up, I fully believe that D.J. Moore is going to be a top 10 wide-receiver in 2023. Moore is going to be a big part of the Bears offense and is going to help Justin Fields in a huge way this upcoming season which is going to lead to great things for this Bears team. D.J. Moore’s talent is going to be showcased in big ways this season especially with 2023 being a prove-it year for Justin Fields. All points are leading to positive storylines for the Bears in 2023, and D.J. Moore being a top 10 wide-receiver in 2023 I am hoping is one of them.
