Bears camp: Justin Fields to DJ Moore (again), 2-minute improvement, rookie CB battle

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — On the first play of team drills in the first padded practice of the summer, we saw the Chicago Bears do something that’s been pretty rare.

Quarterback Justin Fields took the snap, got the ball out quickly to wide receiver DJ Moore, who beat cornerback Jaylon Johnson on his slant route. Moore caught the pass in stride and was off to the races, taking it all the way to the end zone. Safety Eddie Jackson tried to chase him down.

One of the simplest plays in football has eluded the Bears over the years. How often have we seen that quick pass, followed by yards after catch for an explosive play?

“Obviously, DJ had that real nice slant,” coach Matt Eberflus said.

The Bears were last in the league in YAC last season and 16th in YAC per reception. They were also 16th in percentage of slant routes run, per Pro Football Focus.

It’s just one element of the passing game that should be elevated by the presence of Moore.

Here are our observations from Tuesday’s practice, along with what we heard from players and Eberflus at Halas Hall.

Some situational success

When it came to the two-minute, end-of-half situation in practice, Take 2 went better than the first for Fields and the starting offense. They went three-and-out on their first attempt at it against the second defense.

Fields then delivered on the second. Starting on the offense’s 30, Fields hit rookie receiver Tyler Scott deep over the middle to move the ball into field goal range.

Three plays later on third-and-5 and with 43.3 seconds remaining in the half, Fields escaped the pocket, rolled to his right and hit Moore for a touchdown.

“That was real, you know,” Eberflus said. “Again, the (defensive) line likes to say they got him a couple times, but I’m back there; I can see. It was a real play and (he) did a nice job of finding the open guy. So we got a chance to work our scramble drill there and find open people.”

Such plays can be tough to judge because the contact isn’t fully live, especially around Fields. But Eberflus knows what he’s seeing. He wants Fields to “play it real.” And he saw it on his touchdown to Moore in the situational drill.

“So he goes through his reads, he’s got the rhythm and the timing,” Eberflus said. “There’s a time clock on each play that he needs to get the ball out, and he knows that, and when it stops he’s got to move on to the next thing, and sometimes that is moving out of the pocket and creating.”

Safety Jaquan Brisker’s interception of backup quarterback P.J. Walker punctuated the first-team defense’s success in the same drill to close practice.

That was nasty, @JaquanBrisker 😮‍💨
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 1, 2023

“It wasn’t as good as the one in New England, but it was pretty good,” Eberflus said. “But yeah, he’s a talent, for sure. I thought he was good in his quarter (of the field) there. He broke off the hash and did a nice job high-pointing the ball.”

Injury (non-)updates

Starting right guard Nate Davis was a notable absence Tuesday. Eberflus said he’s dealing with an injury but offered no further detail. Davis, who signed a three-year, $30 million contract in March, had rotated a bit during practice with Lucas Patrick and Ja’Tyre Carter. In his absence, Patrick handled the first-team reps.

Running back Roschon Johnson and fullback Khari Blasingame were present but not participating. Linebacker Jack Sanborn and defensive end DeMarcus Walker left practice. Tight end Chase Allen was absent for the second day in a row.

“Right now, those guys are dealing with a variation of things,” Eberflus said. “They’re working with the training staff to get back as fast as possible.”

“Even when I don’t have it, it still makes me want to give it — just to have somebody that believes in you, believe in your ability, believe that you are a great human being.”
Why rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson would run through a wall for the Bears
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) August 1, 2023

Rookie vs. rookie

The best competition going in camp is at cornerback between rookies Tyrique Stevenson (56th pick) and Terell Smith (the 165th pick).

On Tuesday, Smith deflected a pass during a seven-on-seven drill in the low red zone that turned into an interception for Jackson. In the same drill, Stevenson outbattled veteran tight end Robert Tonyan to force an incompletion on a jump ball from Fields.

“It’s a competition until the end,” Stevenson said. “We both got drafted. For opportunities, it really doesn’t matter where you got drafted at. At the end of the day, he comes in every day with his head down willing to work, just as I am.

“I had a couple slipups. They didn’t tell me anything, but they made it real clear that it’s going to be a competition. I didn’t earn anything. I have no straps in the league. Every day we come in, we smile at each other. We also know that we’re both working for the same position.”

‘He’s a stronger man than I was’

When the Bears drafted Teven Jenkins in 2021, one of his greatest strengths was his athleticism. This was the previous regime, but they still valued athletic offensive linemen, and Jenkins could move.

Teven Jenkins is a OT prospect in the 2021 draft class. He scored a 9.73 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 31 out of 1129 OT from 1987 to 2021.
Splits projected, times unofficial. #RAS
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 1, 2021

That’s some important context when Jenkins says rookie right tackle Darnell Wright is “farther ahead of me right now.”

“He’s just a different athlete than I was,” Jenkins said. “He’s a stronger man than I was, too. So I mean, he’s just a different player. I feel like at that time, where I was in my career and where he was, he’s like way farther ahead right now.”

There was a snap in the goal-line drill that defensive tackle Zacch Pickens wants back from his first padded practice in the NFL.

“I struck the guard, but the tackle came down,” he told The Athletic. “I wish there was another way I could’ve protected myself and made sure my gap was sealed.”

Pickens, the Bears’ third-round pick, did have one he liked when he was able to knock back an offensive lineman and redirect the ball carrier.

It’s all part of his learning experience. Pickens has been learning from Justin Jones about playing three-technique and working with Andrew Billings on the nose. He said he’s played both throughout camp.

The offensive lineman who has stood out to Pickens? Veteran Cody Whitehair.

“On pass and run, he knows how to anchor. He anchors well,” Pickens said. “He can counter it. He’ll also tell you, ‘Right here, I know you’re doing this.’ He’s basically helping us get ready for the season, too.”

Pickens and fellow rookie defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. continue to earn positive reviews from the coaches.

“Yeah I’ve been impressed with both guys the whole camp,” Eberflus said. “We’ve had some one-on-one pass rushes up to this point, we had some today and both those guys have done a nice job rushing the passer. Very powerful guys, very athletic, quick for their size. We’re pleasantly surprised, or not really surprised, but we’re excited where they are, for sure.”

GO DEEPER

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Quick hits

• Eberflus said they ran 48 plays Tuesday and plan to double it for Wednesday’s practice before an off day Thursday.

• In one-on-one drills at the start of practice, wide receiver Darnell Mooney did a nice job to pluck a touchdown catch with cornerback Kyler Gordon in tight coverage. On the next rep, receiver Chase Claypool hauled in a score over Johnson. The officials on the field called it a touchdown, but he appeared to get only one foot in bounds. Eberflus, though, said he’s happy with the Claypool-Fields connection.

“It’s good,” Eberflus said. “It’s been good the last couple days. I can see it growing and growing. He’s starting to learn him. Because again, (Claypool) wasn’t here in the spring. And we think it’s a real positive thing.”

• In the two-minute drill, a pair of second-team defensive players made nice plays. Defensive end Trevis Gipson beat Wright inside to pressure Fields to scramble, and cornerback Josh Blackwell made a run stop on third down.

• The seven-on-seven drill took place in the low red zone Tuesday, and it wasn’t pretty. In addition to Jackson’s interception, safety Elijah Hicks broke up a Fields pass to Claypool, and Stevenson showed his physicality to win his rep against Tonyan.

(Photo: Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press)

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