Leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft, the Bears organized a throwing session between rookies Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze, and Bears veterans DJ Moore and Keenan Allen.
The throwing session was a little nebulous for the veterans; but not, at the same time.
"At that point, it was so like he [Ryan Poles] was playing that game of 'You're not supposed to know who we're drafting but we all know who he's drafting,'" Moore said Thursday. "He kind of knew what was going on. I had the offense for a like a few days so I kind of knew everything that was going on with the offense and the ins and outs with it.
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"When I got out there I was just helping them along. He [Williams] was asking questions, Rome was asking questions. I was like 'Do y'all know something we don't know out here? Are y'all both coming?' And we ended up taking both so it worked out."
The well-documented throwing session said a lot about what the Bears had hoped to do in the draft. By that point, it was well known the Bears would be drafting Williams, even if Bears GM Ryan Poles played it coy with both Moore and Allen.
Luckily, it worked out, as the Bears drafted both Williams and Odunze. And they got a head start from the jump by getting in a throwing session with their soon-to-be teammates at that time.
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If you recall, Moore was a staunch advocate of Justin Fields, who the Bears traded to the Steelers in favor of drafting Williams to become the team's next starting quarterback. But Moore is ready to ride with Williams through h-e-double -hockey-sticks.
"Now we got Caleb and we'll ride through h-e-l-l and back with him," Moore said. "I'm just looking forward to seeing what he puts out. ...Right now we're all just getting used to each other. We all gotta learn a new offense right now. And just with him, you just got to know that the growing pains are gonna be there for the rookie. You gotta lot to learn and a lot to accomplish in a short amount of time."
Williams struggled at Thursday's practice with the Bears. The offense attributes their ongoing knowledge of the new offense to part of their struggles. The Bears' defense is also well-accustomed to the system they've been running for three years under Matt Eberflus.
Despite the struggles, Moore gleaned a lot of positives from Williams' game.
"You can see the natural leadership is there. The natural arm talent is there," Moore said. "Everything about him is always a positive thing. And even when he has a bad play he's looking to learn real fast right after. That's all you can ask for him, quickly forget but learn at the same time."