Bears' D.J. Moore expands on bold Justin Fields claim

Chicago Bears wide receiver D.J. Moore raised eyebrows when he boldly declared in December he didn't think at that time any of the top quarterback prospects in this year's draft class were "better" than current Chicago starting signal-caller Justin Fields. 

Moore made it known during a Monday appearance on the NFL Network "NFL Total Access" program he hasn't changed his opinion on the matter. 

"I still don't think they compare to Justin right now," Moore said about the prospects, per Bobby Kownack of the league's website. 

Moore produced his best NFL season (to date) in his first working with Fields, as the 26-year-old recorded career highs in total receptions (96), receiving yards (1,364) and touchdown catches (eight). 

Despite those impressive numbers, most analysts expect the Bears will use the top pick of this year's draft to replace Fields with USC Trojans star Caleb Williams. 

The Bears reportedly could receive selections in the second and fourth rounds of this year's draft in return for Fields. Some have suggested that Chicago general manager Ryan Poles could draft Williams but hold onto Fields so that the 2021 first-round choice could start over the rookie for a campaign. 

However, either Chicago or a different club must exercise or decline the fifth-year option for 2025 worth roughly $25.664M in guaranteed money attached to Fields' rookie contract by May 2. 

"The relationship jelled real well from the beginning," Moore said about playing alongside Fields following last March's trade that involved the wideout joining the Bears from the Carolina Panthers. "Since I got traded, he was in contact, and we started throwing together, so it made the transition into games and everything easy."

It's thought Poles and Co. may already know how they plan to handle Chicago's quarterback situation later this spring. The Bears could finalize a trade of Fields either during or shortly after the scouting combine that's running in Indianapolis through this coming weekend. 

While Moore deserves credit for supporting a teammate who is dealing with a stressful and uneasy time, it feels like the veteran of six NFL seasons will find himself catching passes thrown by somebody other than Fields during summer training camp sessions.