With DJ Moore gone, the Chicago Bears lost veteran leadership in the locker room, but here is one underrated player fans should not forget about this season.
The Chicago Bears have a variety of different weapons to utilize for the 2026 season.
One of the reasons the Bears traded wide receiver DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick was because of Colston Loveland's and Luther Burden's emergence during their rookie seasons.
"You look at what (WR) Luther (Burden III) did, again, that's why you followed the draft report," general manager Ryan Poles said in March. "I did not expect Luther Burden to be where he was. He showed up and showed some big-time flashes. Every time that dude touched the ball, special things could happen. Then obviously our tight end (Colston Loveland) is a special player as well."
Even though the Bears do have some young, talented pass catchers, including Rome Odunze, trading Moore also removed a veteran presence in the Bears' locker room. That's not something to simply overlook.
Not long after the trade, the Bears reached a on-year deal with veteran wide receiver and return man Kalif Raymond. The 31-year-old spent three seasons in Detroit with coach Ben Johnson, assistant head coach/wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El and quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett.
Raymond has been in Johnson's offense more than anybody on the Bears' roster, so he will he be a valuable asset to his new teammates. The veteran receivers is also somebody that Bears fans shouldn't overlook.
Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent joined the REKAP with David Kaplan and Ryan McGuffey recently and was asked to highlight one player that fans should buy stock in this season.
Bagent didn't want to pick the obvious answer in Caleb Williams and refrained from choosing Burden because "my man is going to go crazy this year."
So, he shouted out one of his new teammates.
“I'm going, Kalif Raymond is a bad dude, man, I'm telling you," Bagent said. "He's explosive, man. I can see him fitting in somewhere in our offense. This is a way-too-early buying stock, but he’s been a great addition.”
Raymond set a career-high in receiving yards (616) with Johnson as his offensive playcaller in Detroit.
During the NFL's annual owners meetings, Johnson emphasized his staff's shared conviction in wanting to bring Raymond to Chicago.
"Anytime you have a touchpoint with a player, whether it's through free agency or the draft, it helps [that] you know what you're going to get," Johnson said, via ChicagoBears.com. "Any time one of our coaches or personnel guys has a chance to be with another player, you feel pretty good. Absolutely, I stood on the table for Kalif. So did Randle El, so did J.T. Barrett. We know him really well. We know what he's going to bring to the table. He's a phenomenal teammate. It starts there. He's going to elevate that locker room. He's going to practice his tail off. That's what he's done his entire career."
The Bears have plenty of young talent on the team, but fans shouldn't forget about Raymond. He elevates the depth of the wide receiver room while adding valuable experience and leadership to the roster.