D.J. Moore by the numbers: An analytical and statistical look at the newest Bear

The Chicago Bears have altered the direction of the franchise by trading the first overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft to the Carolina Panthers for the ninth and sixty-first picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, a 2024 first-round pick, a 2025 second-round pick, and wide receiver D.J. Moore.

Carolina adding Moore to the trade appears to be what Chicago general manager Ryan Poles was holding out for, and once they agreed to Poles’ terms, a deal was struck.

So what are the Bears getting in the soon to be 26 year old?

Moore checks in at 6’, 201 pounds, and he’s only missed two games in his five-year career while averaging 890 offensive snaps a season. He’s compiled 364 receptions, 5,201 yards (14.3 avg), and 21 receiving touchdowns since being the 24th overall pick in the 2017 draft.

For a little perspective, the leading receiver in Chicago history is Johnny Morris with 5,059 yards.

From a fantasy football way of looking at Moore, he’s been a top 20 receiver for the last four seasons.

Athletically speaking, Moore will bring speed and quickness to Chicago’s passing attack.

The Bears will have Moore under contract through the 2025 season, and since the Panthers are on the hook for most of his bonus money, Chicago’s cap hits are just $20,165,000 in 2023, $16,050,000 in 2024, and $16,050,000 in 2025.

The Bears still have the most salary cap space in 2023 at around $75 million, which leaves them plenty of room to address several more needs in free agency.

Here’s an interesting stat...

For those wondering, last season, he racked up 941 scrimmage yards while catching passes from Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, P.J. Walker, and Jacob Eason.

Moore joins a Chicago receiving room with Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool, Velus Jones Jr., and Equanimeous St. Brown, and he’s another weapon for Justin Fields as he looks to bolster his passing in 2023.

Moore, while athletically gifted and able to generate plenty of yards after the catch, is also a threat to get open downfield. He may not be a tall go-up-and-get-it, jump ball receiver, but his quickness and play strength makes him a viable deep ball option.

The Reception Perception data compiled by Matt Harmon always provides a nice snapshot on how receivers do damage to defenses. This Tweet below, the pics, and the entire thread has some good info.

Josh crunched the trade value numbers yesterday and concluded that this was a fair deal for both parties, but Robert Schmitz used the Pro Football Focus simulator to see how likely this trade was according to their analytics.