That’s why I linked DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills about 50 times (approximately) over the past few months. Now that the move has become a reality, Moore is headed to Buffalo, along with a fifth-round pick, in exchange for a second-round pick being sent back to the Chicago Bears. To be transparent, that’s a higher pick than I thought would be included in the retail package.
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The writing was on the wall for Moore, who admitted he didn’t play his best football in 2024 and saw his role diminished in his first season with Ben Johnson at the helm. There was simply no reason for the cap-strapped Bears to absorb his $27.5 million average annual salary any longer with two cheaper, quality young receivers flanking him on the depth chart in Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III, along with Colston Loveland at tight end. More on them later.
Landing in Buffalo makes a lot of sense for Moore, as he is familiar with new head coach Joe Brady’s system and they have a big need at wide receiver. Anticipating this pairing could happen, I asked Moore last month what he liked about playing in Brady’s offense when they were together in Carolina from 2020 to 2021. He praised Brady’s “nuanced” and “new” routes and concepts:
I also share Moore’s affinity for designing Brady’s passing game. As eluded to in the video above, the Bills’ heavy reliance on screens and general lack of downfield passing for stretches of the last few seasons have said more about their lower-tier perimeter receiver personnel than about what Brady wants to do.Advertisement
In fact, we can look back to Brady’s use of Moore as an X receiver in Brady’s first year with the Panthers to confirm this. Simply put, he brings a lot of skills and credible lineup potential that the Bills’ wide receiver space has lacked over the last couple of seasons.
Moore doesn’t fit everyone as a top outside receiver; You can be lax with the details of your route and need the right touch of role catering. It makes sense why he just didn’t fit the maniacally detailed Ben Johnson in Chicago, but this may work with Buffalo. I spoke with Josh Allen earlier and he highlighted that he doesn’t care if his WR1 always has adequate depth on his routes or not as long as he “just gets open.”
The Bills haven’t had anyone open up the perimeter for them in the last two years. Moore isn’t liked by all strict evaluators or coaches as a route runner, but he’s open. Considering Allen’s preferences and history, this connection may work even if Moore is a little loose on the details.
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The Bills needed someone to do the job, and Moore’s max results are better than anyone who was available at wide receiver this offseason playing in this ecosystem. Good buy, in a world where finding a “true number one receiver” is always easier said than done.
Right now, I’d say Moore projects to be a quality starting fantasy receiver who could flirt with 1,000 yards, depending on who else is added to this room. That’s a note we should certainly hit; I would be surprised if this was the last wide receiver addition the Bills make this offseason. My preferred strategy for Buffalo in what should be a complete overhaul of this room over the next few months was to make a veteran trade (Moore was my favorite option) and then come back to take advantage of this twice in the NFL Draft.
Once we get to the end of April, we’ll have a better idea of how to project Moore from a production standpoint. For now, he’s clearly the best outside receiver on the team, will help Allen in the passing game and will be in advantageous positions to win both down the field while playing for a coach who has shown a real ability to work guys in space, something I know Moore is eager to do more of to showcase his ability to break tackles in the run-after-catch phase.
Let’s take this back to Chicago, where Moore leaves behind a room that has no shortage of interesting options.
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As soon as the Bears took Luther Burden III, I predicted he would be selected to boost the veteran and eventually take Moore’s spot in the starting lineup. The fantasy hive mind seems to believe that Burden was taken as Johnson’s coveted slot player: the Amon Ra. St. Brown’s role is not real and only existed in Detroit because St. Brown is awesome. However, for me, Burden can win outside and his best weapon is when he can move around the formation, allowing him to get the ball into space. In other words, he belongs to the same receiver archetype as Moore.
The fantasy industry was always meant to boost Burden’s ADP and 2026 prospects, and Moore being off the roster should have already been factored into that. So it’s not necessary to tell it twice, but Burden should move to a full-time playing role after never getting that promotion as a rookie.
That doesn’t necessarily mean he projects as the clear top target of the offense. Burden will compete with two other excellent players in Roma Odunze, who was the leader in the passing game early last season before suffering a foot injury that ruined his season, and tight end Colston Loveland, who looked like a future elite player as the Bears’ season came to an end.
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The Bears have a diverse and talented group of pass catchers at their disposal heading into 2026, and will likely make depth additions beyond this trio. All three of them, Loveland, Burden and Odunze, fit Caleb Williams’ game for different reasons.
My answer to which Bears passing game player I want to invest in for 2026 has always been, “Yes.” Shoot all these players. That view has only crystallized now that Moore’s planned trade has made the room a little less crowded.