Bear Digest

Bears version of Deebo Samuel reluctant to accept the comparison

It's DJ Moore and not Deebo Samuel but the Bears can't be blamed for trying to use their No. 1 receiver as a ball carrier in the backfield since it's largely unexplored.
Gene Chamberlain|
The Bears have an unscouted advantage over the Vikings in the opener and one look might be DJ Moore disguised as a ball carrier.
The Bears have an unscouted advantage over the Vikings in the opener and one look might be DJ Moore disguised as a ball carrier. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Week 1 matchups are all about unscouted looks in the NFL.

The Minnesota Vikings face the Bears on Monday night and there have been three seasons of what Kevin O'Connell does as an offensive coach and two of Brian Flores with his tricky blitzing defensive scheme to study. There isn't a lot the Vikings can do that doesn't look similar to their past.

The real unscouted edge in this game belongs with the Bears and coach Ben Johnson with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.

One much anticipated maneuver the Bears offense could attempt in the opener is lining up wide receiver DJ Moore in the backfield. It's something the Bears did on occasion in training camp. Last year's team tried this on a very limited basis, when he had 14 runs but only four came out of the backfield.

Moore doesn't mind doing it. It's just better not to compare him to Commanders and former 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel, who has made a career of being the Swiss army knife type of player.

"Nah, I'm myself," Moore said Wednesday. "I love Deebo but I'm myself."

It's definitely not a surprise for Moore to hear the comparison, especially after they practiced with him in the backfield in training camp on occasion.

"I have heard the Deebo comparisons," Moore said. "You know, you can't get away from it, not with social media. So, I mean, it is what it is."

Last year the Bears found ways to get Moore the ball even when they couldn't get him as involved down the field in the passing game with a rookie quarterback like they had in 2023 with Justin Fields as passer. This included more screen passes.

As a result, he averaged only 9.8 yards per catch while making a career-high 98 receptions.

Samuel is 215 pounds and 6 feet tall. Moore is 6-foot and 213 pounds. But expecting Moore to carry the ball out of the backfield more than one or two times a game might be anticipating too much because he simply hasn't done it much.

Moore has only 21 rushes for 272 yards in his career.

So while Moore understands the comparison, he doesn't see it as valid and definitely would need to prove himself running it out of the backfield before there could be such comparisons.

"I mean, just to get the ball in my hands, I want to say yeah," he said. "But being compared to Debo, I mean, he was doing it at a high level and still is.

"So I just gotta get my feet wet and going."

It's still a potential surprise element and unscouted look for the Bears offense considering they haven't really sprung it on anyone in a regular-season game.

And no one would be surprised to see this unscouted look pop up in the opener, especially with injury issues still plaguing Bears running backs

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.