Chicago Bears 2024 wide receivers report card: grading D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, and Keenan Allen

Bears rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze brings it in Indy | Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If you’re a wide receiver—regardless if you’re playing in the NFL, the NCAA, or Pop Warner—catching balls from a neophyte quarterback who’s stuck behind a subpar offensive line ain’t easy.

In 2024, the Chicago Bears’ starting trio of wide receivers was stuck doing just that.

D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, and Keenan Allen were in a difficult, if not near-impossible situation. Sure, rookie signal caller Caleb Williams had plenty of wonderful moments, and the O-line stepped up here and there, but the play-calling was, in a word, garbage, and even Jerry Rice would’ve had trouble thriving in that mess of an offense.

Unfortunately for Moore, Odunze, and Allen, few are going to look at their numbers and think, “It’s everybody else’s fault.” Their stat lines are their stat lines, and they must live with them forever.

They also have to live with their Bears On SI grades. Which aren’t great.

D.J. Moore

In his second season wearing a Bears uni, the University of Maryland product, numerically speaking, took a major step back from year one, losing significant ground in yardage (-398), yards per game (-23.4), touchdowns (-2), and first downs (-21). And it’s not like he didn’t have the opportunity—he started all 17 games, and saw two more targets than he did in 2023.

Moore was in a more-than-a-little-difficult situation, but as a highly-paid WR1, he should’ve brought more to the table.

Grade: C-

Rome Odunze

The first-rounder from Washington had a decent enough rookie year, but numbers-wise, he didn’t come close to fellow freshmen Malik Nabers or Brian Thomas Jr. In a vacuum, Odunze was fine, but he was the ninth pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, so we expected more.

Which begs the question, do we grade on expectations or performance? Numbers don’t lie, so performance it is.

Grade: C

Keenan Allen

When the Bears acquired the likely future Hall of Famer, it made all the sense in the world: He has some of the stickiest hands in the league, his route-running is elite, and every rookie quarterback needs a wily veteran in the huddle.

Allen’s many impressive attributes were most on display during the latter half of the year, but unfortunately, by that point, the Bears’ season was very much in the crapper, so his numbers were of the empty variety. Nonetheless, Allen was always reliable and professional, so we’ll look back with fondness at his 2024.

Grade: B+