When it comes to skill players on the offensive side of the ball, few are better than DJ Moore when it comes to making things happen with the football in his hands. Perhaps that’s why his new head coach and offensive play-caller, Ben Johnson, has been tinkering with the idea of manufacturing more of those opportunities for Moore this season.
As Johnson continues to install his offense—a process only a quarter of the way complete, according to the head coach over the weekend—he’s experimenting with his skill players and trying to maximize their skillsets.
Johnson did say, after all, that he was going to build the Bears’ offense from the ground up rather than copying and pasting his blueprint from Detroit shortly after he was hired by Chicago this offseason. So, this makes sense.
For those lucky enough to score some free but elusive training camp tickets on Monday and Tuesday, you saw a glimpse of this work-in-progress, with Moore lining up in various spots, including the backfield.
Will Ben Johnson use DJ Moore out of the Bears’ backfield this season?
The short answer is yes. DJ Moore working out of the backfield isn’t an entirely new concept. Given Moore’s skillset and Johnson’s ability to tailor his offense to his players’ strengths, I think the question now is how often we will see it this season.
“We’re exploring some things,” Johnson said at his Tuesday press conference. “I think what I’ve seen on tape and what I’ve come to learn about DJ is he’s a physical, run after catch, just get me the ball type of guy. Whether that’s in the backfield, whether that’s screens, I think he had a nice go route the other day. There’s a number of things that we’re looking to do and explore to how do we get him the ball and get him in space. We’re tinkering with that a little bit. Yesterday, you saw he’s really receptive to it.”
© Cary Edmondson-Imagn ImagesLike I said, this isn’t new. Former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron experimented with it last season, using Moore out of the backfield on 14 rushing attempts in 2024. Still, it might be the first time we’ve seen it done with some scheme and consistency that will prove prudent for Moore and Chicago’s offense.
Moore ranked fifth in the league in yards after the catch—and third among wide receivers—with 588 in 2024. In 2023, Moore ranked 11th in yards after the catch. He’s an elusive runner in the open field, and he makes defenses pay if they don’t put him down at the catch point.
During his rookie season in Carolina, Moore recorded 13 rushing attempts for 172 yards, good for more than 13 yards per attempt. Throughout his career, he’s rushed for 431 yards on 57 attempts, which breaks down to roughly 7.5 yards per attempt.
While D’Andre Swift has said all the right things during camp—and received a vote of confidence from the coaching staff—and Roschon Johnson and rookie Kyle Monangai have drawn good reviews thus far, there’s no doubt that Chicago was looking to add to their backfield this offseason.
If Johnson can funnel some extra juice into his backfield via Moore, it not only leans into his skillset and helps keep his running backs working in things that fit theirs, but it also probably opens up a more significant role for Rome Odunze in the passing game and spreads some targets to rookies Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland.
Even if Johnson likes what he sees through his camp experience, it’s unlikely that Moore sees a significant workload out of the backfield. But it’s still intriguing, and I continue to love how Johnson has approached the construction of his offense in Chicago during the infancy of his tenure at the helm.
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