LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Chicago Bears wide receivers coach Chris Beatty said his son was doing cartwheels when they got the call.
Keenan Allen was coming to Chicago.
“He’s a coach’s dream,” said Beatty, who coached Allen with the Chargers from 2021 to 2023.
When rookie quarterback Caleb Williams takes the field with the full team next week as OTAs get underway, he’ll continue the process of throwing to Allen, DJ Moore and Cole Kmet.
While the vets weren’t at rookie camp, we did get to learn a little more from coordinators and position coaches about the players who are going to help complement Williams on offense, and those who will try to build on the defense’s success last season.
1. ‘Elite playmakers’
Passing game coordinator Thomas Brown worked with Beatty in 2014 at Wisconsin. Brown was the running backs coach and Beatty was the receivers coach. The two know each other’s drills, which made Brown even more in awe of an early impression of Allen.
“We’re going through our normal pat-and-go warmup drills with Keenan and I’m standing in front of guys trying to give them a look,” Brown said. “I know where they’re going — it’s going to be an outside-release-go every single time, and his movement and body skills even got me off balance.
“I knew where he was going the whole time. His understanding of nuance of how to get open, always being open, being free to the quarterback — and the experience, you’re talking about a guy with 10,000 yards.”
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Brown referred to Allen and Moore as “elite playmakers” who can make plays in different ways.
“DJ’s ability to run after the catch and break tackles is a huge part of it,” Brown said.
Beatty called Moore a “bull in a china shop” while Allen is “paint-the-edges on Picasso.”
.@idjmoore on the run for 6 💫
📺: #DETvsCHI on FOX pic.twitter.com/WP9XIQufSS
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) December 10, 2023
“At the end of the day, you get every angle,” he said. “And Rome (Odunze) is kind of in between. There are times when he’s rugged and rough like DJ and then there’s part of his game that’s intricate like Keenan.”
When Beatty got hired, the only starting receiver under contract was Moore. Then came the acquisition of Allen and the selection of Odunze. Beatty and Brown are going to have fun working with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron to get the most out of their trio at receiver.
“(Moore’s) one of the best in the world with the ball in his hands,” he said. “(Allen) works third downs like nobody in the business. … Rome can complement them by being a contested catcher outside the numbers.”
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2. Velus Jones’ extra value
Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower was one of three coaches, along with Darren Rizzi (Saints) and John Fassel (Cowboys), to help structure the new kickoff rule with the league.
The biggest effect is going to be a jump in returns. Who does that benefit? A pretty good kickoff returner.
“How it pertains to our team, you can only think about a guy like Velus Jones. Great example,” Hightower said. “A guy like that with his type of skill set, with the speed and the power that he has, and he’s coming full speed ahead at you, it’s like a damn freight train running at you.”
Among players who have regularly returned kickoffs over the past two seasons, Jones’ average is 27.4 yards, which trails only Keisean Nixon, the Packers’ All-Pro returner who had a touchdown in that span.
Helloooo @VelusJr
📺: #CHIvsATL on FOX pic.twitter.com/pp9VIemUdp
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 20, 2022
Jones hasn’t worked out as a punt returner. It was a challenge to get him involved in the offense. But the size-speed combo that attracted general manager Ryan Poles to Jones in the 2022 draft has come out on kickoff returns.
“He’s gonna get an opportunity to touch the ball three or four more times a game,” Hightower said. “And we all know he’s a very dynamic player with the ball in his hands.”
It was challenging to legitimize keeping a player who was a kickoff-return specialist under the previous rules. It might be easier moving forward. The Bears also figure to use running back Khalil Herbert, who tied for the league lead in 30-plus-yard kickoff returns in 2021.
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3. Next step for Spider-Man
Kyler Gordon watched last year as his good friend and former Washington teammate, Trent McDuffie, earned All-Pro honors for his performance as a slot cornerback.
The third-year corner writes down goals and keeps photos of players in his house as reminders of what he wants to accomplish, nickelbacks coach David Overstreet said.
“His next step is to become a household name,” Overstreet said, “where everybody in the league knows who you are.”
.@kyler_gordon's spidey senses were tingling 🕷️
📺: #ATLvsCHI on CBS pic.twitter.com/unkKA6vl0Y
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) December 31, 2023
Gordon’s play last season was underrated, but he established himself as one of the game’s better inside corners. He had a sack, three tackles for loss, two interceptions and six passes defensed — and he missed four games with an injury.
Overstreet, who worked with coach Matt Eberflus in Indianapolis and worked with Pro Bowl nickel corner Kenny Moore, knows what it looks like when a player at that position — in this scheme — is operating at a high level.
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“The biggest thing for Kyler is how much the game has slowed down,” Overstreet said. “Kyler is very, very smart. He might be one of the smartest players on the team. For everything to start slowing down for him, that’s how he’s going to make more plays. The Spider-Man stuff, it’s the spidey sense clicking.”
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4. Dex at three-tech
With OTAs around the corner, the Bears still haven’t signed a starting defensive tackle. That means second-year pro Gervon Dexter will be put in position to be the guy in Year 2.
“Our responsibility is to make sure he is (ready) when it counts and that’s why we’re going to use the full process — the offseason, training camp, every ounce of meeting that we can get, walk-throughs, to just continue to move him forward,” defensive coordinator Eric Washington said.
As a rookie, Dexter played 40.3 percent of the snaps. Late in the season, he was pushing 50 percent but was always behind Justin Jones, who is now with the Cardinals.
Dexter’s production did increase down the stretch, as he had nine QB hits in the final eight games along with 2 1/2 sacks.
.@GervonDexter was locked in 🔒 pic.twitter.com/HtXEV3orFK
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) April 12, 2024
When Washington watched tape of the 2023 season, he saw Dexter’s progression.
“You could really see him becoming more and more comfortable because early in the season like a lot of young players, especially on the line of scrimmage, they’re behind because the tempo is just a lot quicker,” he said. “They’re trying to find a way not only to keep up but to find a way to play ahead of the football play. And so as the reps and the experiences started to accumulate, you saw him starting to impose his will.”
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5. Swift scouting report
D’Andre Swift, who agreed to sign with the Bears minutes into the start of free agency, will take over as the lead running back in 2024.
Here’s what running backs coach Chad Morton, who came over with Waldron from Seattle, thinks of Swift.
“I’ve been watching this guy since college,” he said. “He’s exciting to watch, man. That guy, he’s got so much ability. He’s fast, he can make guys miss and what we’re excited about now is just opening up the passing game with the backs. He’s got that opportunity to have that one-on-one matchup out of the backfield. We can get him out on empty (formation). We do a lot of empty stuff here, too, so we can move this guy all around. He can win from any spot.”
Using the 2023 Seahawks as a comparable situation, Kenneth Walker had 219 carries for 905 yards, and Zach Charbonnet had 108 carries for 462 yards. Swift should lead the way, but the Bears will definitely mix in Herbert and Roschon Johnson.
(Photo of Keenan Allen: Wesley Hitt / Getty Images)
