Bear Digest

What Jahdae Walker's huge Bears play says for Ben Johnson's methods

The Bears had little hesitation relying on an undrafted receiver at crunch time and the Bears' QB and coach reveal why.
Gene Chamberlain|
Jahdae Walker begins a TD celebration teammates and fans have waited to see since he did it in preseason.
Jahdae Walker begins a TD celebration teammates and fans have waited to see since he did it in preseason. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

If Jahdae Walker had a dollar for everyone in the locker room after Saturday night's win who said the undrafted rookie was "their man," he could almost afford a luxury suite at the new Bears stadium in Indiana.

"Jahdae's my guy," quarterback Caleb Williams said, after DJ Moore and two or three others said the same in the locker room.

Walker really was Williams' guy and the guy for the moment when he went from preseason post-touchdown dancer to regular-season post-touchdown dancer. The undrafted rookie made the TD catch that forced overtime on a fourth-and-1 throw from the 6-yard line, and cemented his place in this season of Bears comebacks, during their 22-16 win Saturday over the Packers.

"When he first got here, I allowed him to stay at my house a little bit until he found  a spot," Williams said. "We've gone in the indoor (practice facility) and worked out, just being able to build that connection with him for moments like this.

"Throughout the week, having belief and trust in him. Throughout the week, communicate with him exactly what I want, exactly where he needs to be, him having faith, him having belief and what I'm saying, what the coaches are saying. He goes out there, makes the plays and he's in the right spot. The ball will find him and that's what happened on that play."

Starter and closer

Walker caught the first Williams pass of regulation for 15 yard and last one, the tying 6-yarder to end the 53-yard drive after Josh Blackwell's recovered onside kick.

Williams made all that work he had done with Walker pay off by showing complete confidence in someone who probably ranked the 53rd man or 52nd man on their roster.

"Whoever's on that field in that time, I trust them, that they're going to do their job and go make plays when the ball is in the air," Williams said.

On the fourth-down pass with the game in a balance, Walker popped wide open at the back side of the end zone after defenders went too heavily to Olamide Zaccheaus.

It was Zaccheaus who reminded Walker how important that play was before it occurred.

"Before the play, OZ was like, 'got to get it,' " Walker said. "I went vertical and I saw both of them (DBs) go to OZ so I ran straight to the pylon and Caleb threw me a great ball."

It actually led Walker a bit too much but he wasn't going to be picky after a season when he hadn't been a target for Williams once going into that game. Walker stretched out, and got the feet down before going OB.

No experience, no problem

Williams never balked at throwing in that direction after all that work the two had done, even if Walker was warming the bench all year.

"He goes out there, makes the plays and he's in the right spot," Williams said. "The ball will find him, and that's what happened on that play.

"I end up obviously going through the cadence, seeing what they were in and I didn't second-guess. I didn't think Jahdae was out there. I knew he was out there, but it wasn't like 'Oh, Jahdae's out there, I'm not going to (throw it to him).' It was Jahdae's out there and I'm going to throw this ball exactly where I told him we're going to throw it in practice, and he's going to be exactly where he needs to be just like he did.”

Ben Johnson thinks of the rookies and undrafteds the same way he does Rome Odunze and Luther Burden, whose injury absences gave Walker his chance to play. Johnson is never afraid to have the less experienced involved when he calls plays.

"That's one of those plays that we felt like depending on the coverage it would change who the primary receiver was going to be," Johnson said. "The play before they cover-zeroed us (man-to-man coverage) and Caleb was aware of that and they came back on fourth down and did the same thing, cover zero.

"On that particular play, Jahdae was our zero answer.”

Ready for this all his life

The loss of Burden, Odunze or any other wide receiver was something Walker has prepared for all season.

"(Offensive coordinator) Declan (Doyle), L (receivers coach Antwaan Randle  El), (QB and receivers assistant Robbie (Picazo), everybody, they always tell me, like be ready, you're one play away from 50 snaps. I just try to be ready and control what I can control," Walker said.

It was 17 snaps on Saturday night.

To Johnson, this play further certified the Bears' method of operation. They've taught all the receivers all the routes, and throughout OTAs and even part of training camp they had younger receivers catch passes from all the QBs. Often bench players have very limited exposure to teams' starting QBs.

"That's why we do what we do over the course of the  season, though," Johnson said. "I know to the people that haven't been in the building, it's like ‘oh my gosh, you're going to (throw to) the undrafted rookie on fourth down?’ Well, we see what he does every single week. We see how he goes about his business. There's a reason why we didn't want to expose him to the waiver wire and someone poach him after the preseason. We see a bright future for this guy.

"He's done nothing but steadily improve over the course of the  season. The coaches trust him. Caleb trusts him. When it's a big moment like that and you're not sure exactly what coverage they're going to be in, as I described the play, anybody could get that ball depending on what they call. I had a lot of confidence that he was going to come down to get it and so does Caleb. So that's where we're at as a team right now. I feel like everyone trusts that whoever's out there on game day, they're going to come through for us. It doesn't matter who it is at this point.”

Walker was already a popular player in the locker room  without the catches.

Perhaps his TD catches against Miami and Kansas City in preseason had done this. It let him display a TD shuffle every bit the spectacle as the league's best-rehearsed TD dances.

“Yeah, I love Jahdae, man," Williams said. "His character, his  energy is infectious. Him having that moment is, I know, big for him in his career, big for him, for us, for everybody here. He's been working his tail off. He was a pro this week.

"It's something that we said this week, that he was looked to in this week and for his opportunity, I told him when his opportunity comes—it wasn't this week but I told him a couple weeks ago--walking back from (the Payton Center), yeah, walking back from the indoor, when your opportunity shows and presents itself, you need to go make the opportunity and secure your moment. Secure your time, secure your ... who knows if he's going to be here forever. Who knows if he's going to be on another team, but when his moment appears, go out there, make the plays for your career, for your life, for your family. And that's something he did today.”

He could have even more big moments ahead this season as the injuries to Odunze and Burden will be a day-to-day or even week-to-week issue.

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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.