The breaking news in the NFL yesterday was about the Buffalo Bills’ DJ Moore acquisition, courtesy of a trade with the Chicago Bears. Still a young (29 years old) and talented receiver, Moore was made expendable when Chicago added Rome Odunze with the ninth pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and with the breakout season by rookie tight end Colston Loveland.
Odunze was targeted 90 times in 12 games by quarterback Caleb Williams, catching 44 passes for 682 yards (13.6 ypc) and six touchdowns. Another 82 targets went to the rookie tight end, who hauled in 58 of those passes for 713 yards (12.3 ypc) and six touchdowns. It’s clear that the Bears are going to focus on developing youth, and at the same time, the move gave Chicago additional cap relief. Before the trade, they were a million dollars over the cap, and now they have $17 million in cap space.
DJ Moore’s Biggest Problem Was Caleb Williams
The move cost Buffalo a second-round pick (60 overall), which is less than what the Bears gave up when they got Moore from the Carolina Panthers in 2023. Chicago gave up the first overall pick (as part of a pick swap) to get Moore before the NFL Draft, and the real prize of that trade was the Panthers first round pick in 2024, which ended up being Williams.
Not only was trade a bargain for Buffalo, but the return on investment will be immediate, and it will be huge. On the surface, it looks like Moore is in decline, going from 96 catches in 2023 and 98 catches in 2024 to just 50 catches last season. Those numbers don’t tell the whole story. Not only were some of Moore’s targets going to younger players, but his quarterback’s accuracy also bears some blame.
Moore was targeted 85 times last year, which means his catch percentage was 58.8%. That’s comparable to the other receivers on the Bears, because the team’s quarterbacks had the worst on-target percentage in the NFL last year (69.7%) and the worst bad throw percentage in the league (20.7%). The fact of the matter is, Caleb Williams was not going to get the most from Moore or any of his other targets.
Bills DJ Moore – Josh Allen Connection Will Be Fire!
Allen is the exact opposite of Williams, almost literally. The Bills were second in the league in on-target throws last year (80.2%) and third-best in bad throws (12.9%). This shows up in their receiver’s stats. The top three targeted players were also the team’s leaders in catches. Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, and Dalton Kincaid pulled in 149 catches on 203 targets from Allen. That’s a catch percentage of 73.4%, thanks to on-target passes.
Shakir is an over-the-middle, slot receiver, and he was targeted 95 times in 2025. Allen will have a playmaker for the first time since Stefon Diggs left town, and Moore will be targeted frequently, and he will catch most of those accurate throws. During Diggs’ first four seasons in Buffalo (ages 27-30), Allen targeted him an average of 160 times per year, and Diggs caught an average of 110 balls a year.
Moore is about to have a breakout season. His 15 yards per catch would have led the Bills last season, and he has to be considered the favorite for the comeback player of the year. It would surprise nobody (except maybe the Bears) if Moore catches 100 balls for 1,500 yards in 2026. Allen may be turning cartwheels, but this could also spell the end of the line for Coleman.
