Undrafted rookie wide receiver Jahdae Walker dropped two passes in warmups before the biggest opportunity of his young NFL career Saturday.
He was thrilled.
Dropping pregame passes always has portended good things for him, whether at Grand Valley State, at Texas A&M or with the Bears in the preseason this year, when he became a training-camp darling.
‘‘It’s going to be a good game for me,’’ Walker said.
He was right.
On fourth-and-four from the Packers’ 6-yard line with 28 seconds left, he caught a touchdown pass in the back right corner of the end zone to pull the Bears within an extra point of tying a game they eventually would win in overtime. Not bad for a player who had played eight offensive snaps and had no career targets before Saturday.
OH MY JAHDAE 🤯🤯🤯
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/LY0ur1XQUH
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) December 21, 2025
‘‘Best moment? Yeah, you could say that,’’ said Walker, who also caught a pass in the first quarter.
Walker lived with quarterback Caleb Williams for a few weeks during the summer. He fell in love with Williams’ dog and posh digs, and the two became fast friends and workout partners. But those weren’t the only reasons Williams trusted him in a gotta-have-it moment.
It was a play the Bears put in during camp.
‘‘An oldie but a goodie,’’ Walker said.
The Packers lined eight players along the line of scrimmage and rushed six. Williams backpedaled as fast as he could from defensive end Brenton Cox Jr. and knew his answer to a zero blitz was to look for Walker to his right. When wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus ran an in-breaking route, Packers cornerbacks Keisean Nixon and Nate Hobbs lurched forward, leaving Walker wide-open.
‘‘It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, Jahdae’s out there, I’m not going to,’ ’’ Williams said. ‘‘It was, ‘Jahdae’s out there, and I’m going to throw this ball exactly where I told him we’re going to throw it in practice. And he’s going to be exactly where he needs to be.’ ’’
A few weeks ago, while walking back from the Bears’ indoor practice facility, Williams told Walker his chance would come. There was a reason the Bears didn’t waive him after camp or send him to the practice squad to allow other teams to poach him.
‘‘We see what he does every single week,’’ head coach Ben Johnson said. ‘‘We see how he goes about his business. . . . I feel like everyone trusts that whoever’s out there on game day, they’re going to come through for us. It doesn’t matter who it is at this point.’’
Even if it’s a rookie with one catch to his name.
‘‘I love Jahdae, man,’’ Williams said. ‘‘His character, his energy is infectious. Him having that moment is, I know, big for him in his career. Big for him, for us, for everybody here.’’
