What to expect from Bears' receiver Jahdae Walker going forward?

The Bears were staring at a 4th-and-4 on their own six-yard line with 28 seconds left in the game. A touchdown (and extra point) ties the game and effectively sends it into overtime. It's undoubtedly the biggest play of the game. Who do they go to in that spot?

Undrafted rookie receiver, Jahdae Walker, of course! Who else?

OH MY JAHDAE 🤯🤯🤯

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/LY0ur1XQUH
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) December 21, 2025

I know he was wide open in the back of the end zone, and it was a much more difficult play for Caleb Williams, but it was still an impressive play in a gotta-have-it spot. We see more routine plays go awry every single week. Malik Willis fumbled a 4th-and-1 handoff in overtime. Seven-year pro Olamide Zaccheaus dropped a much easier catch on Chicago's previous drive. It happens all the time.

On top of a deadly drop, he also could've run the route at the wrong depth, mistimed the jump, or lost where he was on the field and stepped out of bounds. He was awfully close to the backline of the end zone, after all, and we're talking about someone who came into the game with eight offensive snaps over this entire season.

He came through clutch and made the play, though.

Coming into the game, it became clear that someone was going to need to step up in the Bears' receiver room. They were missing two of their top three pass-catchers, Luther Burden III and Rome Odunze. Personally, I'm not one bit surprised to see that Jahdae was that guy. I said last week that I could see him playing a key role for Chicago in the game.

With that said, never in a million years would I have predicted that he'd catch the game-tying touchdown with 24 seconds left in regulation. I don't think anyone saw that coming.

He also caught the first pass of the game for Chicago, which was an impressive 15-yard in-breaker that kept the chains moving on the Bears' first drive. That one will long be forgotten, but it was still an impressive play that could've given Caleb Williams some confidence that he's going to make a play if he needs to go his way.

Regardless, I'm honestly still somewhat surprised that Williams had enough trust in him to go to him in that spot. It does become a bit less surprising when you hear how Ben Johnson talked about him after the game, though.

"I know to the people that haven't been in the building, it's like 'oh my god you're going to the undrafted rookie on fourth-down', well we see what he does every single week," Johnson said. "We see how he goes about his business. There's a reason why we didn't want to expose him to the waiver wire after the preseason."

Even more promising, he also gave a vote of confidence to Walker's future.

"We see a bright future for this guy, and he's done nothing but steadily improve over the course of the season," Johnson said. "The coaches trust him. Caleb trusts him. I had a lot of confidence that he was going come down and get it, and so does Caleb."

Can Walker use this game as a launching pad for the rest of the season and beyond? Maybe, but the Bears still have great depth at receiver when everyone's healthy. It was a crowded room even before Walker made a few big plays for Chicago.

Still, even with everyone healthy and playing their full complement of snaps, I could definitely see a scenario where Walker gets a few targets per game going forward. I know Zaccheaus has earned Williams' trust (somewhat... I find it interesting that Caleb always seems to run immediately after his untimely drops, potentially inspiring a "fine, I'll do it myself then" mentality), but I don't see any reason why Walker can't, or shouldn't, eat into his target share.

Zaccheaus has made a few plays this year, but has largely been unreliable. He was ahead of Burden III in the pecking order for the first half of the season, and I personally think he should fall in line behind Walker the rest of the way.

Not only does Walker have higher upside and potentially more consistent hands (if the preseason was any indication, it looks like he can actually play), but he's also under contract for two more seasons. Meanwhile, Zaccheaus is going to be a free agent this offseason and looks like a surefire candidate to hit the open market.

The 28-year-old has played enough of a role (he's averaged just over four targets per game) that the Bears would need to find another semi-capable receiver if he leaves in free agency. On the other hand, they could move forward with Walker in that role if they confirm that he can hold his own. They're vastly different players, and they still might prioritize bringing in a gadget guy, but it would be much lower on their priority list if he shows they can count on him down the stretch.

That's admittedly looking well ahead to the future, though. Right now, they have a game against San Francisco up next. They definitely hope that Rome Odunze and/or Luther Burden III can return to the lineup for that one.

However, if they're not yet up to the task, I think we're all going into that game with a bit more confidence that Walker can get it done.

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