LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Caleb Williams dropped back, looked to his left and saw DJ Moore open near the sideline. The ball headed toward Moore’s outside shoulder, so the veteran contorted his body to make the catch, which caused him to stumble and fall to the turf.

“When I hit the ground, I was like, ‘I don’t feel nobody around me,’” Moore said in a press conference. “So, I just popped up and kept going.”

Moore didn’t just pop up and keep going. He somehow shifted his momentum from heading out of bounds to cutting back inside, right around cornerback Nick McCloud and into wide open spaces down the field.

“I didn’t know I got up that fast with how it looked with the slow-motion (video),” Moore said, referring to the video above. “But then I saw it on film and I was like, ‘Man, I got up fast!’ And I took off. I was tired after that.”

Moore isn’t the only receiver capable of doing spectacular things. Rome Odunze has similar potential, though he’s at a different stage of his career. The second-year pro believes he’s primed for a big year, and many agree. To the point that both Moore and Odunze might exceed 1,000 yards.

Odunze has already flashed a few times this camp, with touchdowns on Friday and Saturday. And there was this beauty, which shows that the Williams-Odunze chemistry continues to grow.

That chemistry is key, especially in a new scheme that relies so much on precision and timing.

“It’s a race to the spot every time,” Moore said. “Even from the time you line up and get set, you have to be loaded. Because when the ball is snapped, you have two seconds, two to three seconds to be there at your spot before the defenders either get in the backfield or Caleb is off you.”

Finding sync comes with repetition and trust. Williams is pushing hard to build that with his primary targets.

“When we came back (to camp), he was like, ‘Hey, we need to get yada, yada, yada,’” Moore said. “Now? After practice, we run together. I’m like, ‘Dawg. Dude. This is going to be like we’re hip to hip now. We need to stay like this.’”

Moore and Odunze need to stay in lockstep with Williams, but a second season working together should only serve to enhance the rapport.

“A year under our belt helps us continue to build that,” Odunze said in his Saturday presser. “With the new offense, learning it together, having the knowledge of playing in the NFL season and having those games. Then putting that into this offense and building the connection that way is great, too.”

Williams will have options in the pattern, with Olamide Zaccheaus — he has been super impressive as a Bear — Colston Loveland, Cole Kmet and possibly Luther Burden also deserving of receptions. While there’s a natural competition for target share – there is but one ball, after all – the receivers must also work well together to present open windows to move the ball down the field.

“You want to be connected, like I said, hip to hip with all the guys,” Moore said. “Me, Rome, Olamide. Everybody in the room. It’s just like you need to have that connection with everybody.”