DJ Moore: Bears' Captain Low Key

DJ Moore is in his sixth NFL season, makes more money per year than any Bears player, has been a Pro Bowl player and second-team All-Pro twice, had at least 1,150 yards receiving three straight years and pretty much low-keys every answer to anything anyone in the media asks him.

So what gets him excited?

It happened last week when the Bears named him a team captain.

"I was ecstatic," Moore said Wednesday at Halas Hall. "I never was a captain. To be named a captain, shoot, I was jumping up and down in my seat, low key. Glad nobody noticed."

Moore's work ethic and devotion to the task quickly caught the attention of teammates, who voted him that honor along with Justin Fields, Tremaine Edmunds and Eddie Jackson.

"I was surprised. EQ (Equanimeous St. Brown) said he didn't put me down," Moore said, laughing and looking at his teammate standing nearby. "But I think he did, so I was happy."

It failed to surprise coach Matt Eberflus when Moore won instant respect from teammates.

"He leads by example and when he speaks, everybody listens," Eberflus said. "He is just a worker. He's a playmaker. So guys look up to him and that showed in the votes that he got."

Moore's ability to earn respect from teammates goes hand in hand with the way he has impressed in his career without much help from non-descript quarterbacks in the past.

"Just how I go about the business and go out there and handle myself in front of everybody and just being a team player when I get back into the locker room," he said. "Not (just) a team player—I'm a team player regardless—but a brother, somebody you could joke around with and just get to know."

Moore's reputation for staying in the moment is apparent when he talks about his goals individually. One hundred catches?

"I did more with less before so I'm not really too big on it," he said.

Winning would be something else he'd be excited about.

Doing it likely will mean Moore beating Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander. It's possible the Packers would assign him Moore all over the field.

"He's top five," Moore said. "He has good ball skills. He's been doing it for a long time. We came in the same year so about six years. He's cool."

Alexander and Moore haven't run up against each other much in the past. They did in 2019 and 2020. Alexander had a pass breakup in both games.

And Moore?

He matched a career high with nine catches on 11 targets and had 120 yards with Kyle Allen as quarterback in 2019 and in 2020 had his third-best game yardage-wise with 131 yards on six receptions with Teddy Bridgewater passing.

It's anyone's guess what he can do playing with Justin Fields at quarterback and Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool in the receiver lineup. as well.

Either way, he'll low-key it.

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