Jahdae Walker’s ‘best moment’ elevates Bears WR from anonymity

Bears undrafted rookie receiver Jahdae Walker dropped two passes in warmups before the biggest opportunity of his young NFL career Saturday.

He was thrilled.

Dropping pregame passes has always portended good things for him, whether at Grand Valley State, Texas A&M or the preseason this year, when he became a training camp darling.

“It’s going to be a good game for me,” he said.

He was right. On fourth-and-four at the Packers’ 6 with 28 seconds to play, he caught a touchdown in the back right corner of the end zone to put the Bears within an extra point of tying a game they’d eventually win in overtime. Not bad for a player who had eight offensive snaps and no career targets to his name before Saturday.

“Best moment? Yeah, you could say that,” said Walker, who also caught a pass in the first quarter.

Walker lived with Caleb Williams for a few weeks this summer. He fell in love with the quarterback’s 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 training 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 receiver Olamdize Zaccheaus ran an in-breaking route, Packers cornerbacks Keisean Nixon and Nate Hobbs both 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, 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 training camp or send him to the practice squad to allow other teams to poach him.

“We see what he does every single week,” 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.”