Walker wants Bears coaches to know ‘they can trust me’

Jahdae Walker went up and got it.

The Bears second-year receiver made arguably the play of the day Saturday night in preseason action against the Cincinnati Bengals. On a night when the Bears scored just three field goals in a 27-9 loss, there were few offensive highlights.

But Walker’s catch in the second quarter was hard to miss.

On a first down early in the second quarter, Walker lined up on the outside and beat Bengals cornerback Josh Newton by a step. Quarterback Case Keenum lofted the pass in between Newton and safety P.J. Jules, who was helping over the top. Walker leaped high into the air to haul in the 36-yard gain. He spun the ball on the turf in celebration after the play.

“Coach (Ben Johnson) called a fade ball and I was just trying to read it early so I could win late,” Walker said. “I saw the safety cheating on the hash, so I knew I had to snag it. Took it real fast.”

It was Walker’s only catch of the preseason so far, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t making his mark on training camp. Walker has been a steady presence with the second-team offense, and since Luther Burden III was sidelined by a groin injury, Walker has taken more and more reps with quarterback Caleb Williams and the starters.

In a receiving group that’s headlined by the likes of Burden and 2024 top-10 draft pick Rome Odunze, Walker’s name isn’t always top of mind. The Bears signed veteran Kalif Raymond, who seems poised to see the field a bunch, and drafted Zavion Thomas with a third-round draft pick.

But Walker hasn’t gone anywhere. He made the 53-man roster a year ago as an undrafted rookie out of Texas A&M and he looks to be a part of the plan this year when the Bears make their cuts next week.

If Walker is overlooked by folks on the outside, that’s no matter to him.

“That’s fine,” Walker said with a laugh. “Better opportunities for me. Keep one-on-one-ing me and it’s going to be bad. They’ve got to double somebody.”

And that’s exactly it. When Burden and Odunze are both out there, along with tight ends Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet, it stresses defenses. The opponent can’t double-team everybody.

Walker took advantage of his opportunities late in the season last year. After playing sparingly for much of the season, Walker caught the game-tying touchdown in the Week 16 comeback against the Green Bay Packers. Two weeks later, he scored another touchdown in a Week 18 comeback effort that fell short against the Detroit Lions.

Walker did not catch his first NFL pass until Week 16, yet he finished the final three regular-season games with six catches for 87 yards and two touchdowns. With Odunze sidelined due to a foot injury at the time, Walker took advantage of his opportunity.

While Walker wasn’t seeing the field much during the season last year, he was a constant presence in the team’s locker room. If you saw Williams at Halas Hall, you’d usually find Walker not far behind — or rather, you’d probably hear him before you saw him.

“You talk about energy, like he’s the one I have to tell to slow down in the room,” receivers coach Antwaan Randle El said. “Because he is — how do I say it? Kalif is like controlled energy. Jahdae is just baaaaah — energy all the time. But you love a guy like that because you need guys like that.”

It takes a certain level of self-confidence to be the loudest guy in the room as an undrafted rookie, and Walker was unapologetically himself last year, despite the fact that he didn’t play more than 10 offensive snaps until December.

When Williams struggled in one home game, it was Walker who he called to get some extra throwing in at the team facility just hours after the game ended. Williams even let Walker crash at his house when Walker first signed with the Bears.

“Him taking the next step is up to him,” Williams said. “Doing things right, trying to perfect (his game). From there, being friendly to the football, being friendly to the QB. Trying to make catches when the QB may not be right or may not throw the best ball or things like that, it’s protecting your brother, your quarterback, things like that. I am extremely excited for him.”

Their throwing sessions continued over the offseason. Videos of Williams throwing to Burden or Loveland went viral all offseason, but look closely — it seems in every one of those videos Walker is there putting in work too.

“I just been trying my hardest to keep improving,” Walker said. “At the end of the day, I just want to be better than myself each and every day. I want to be better and better and better. I don’t ever want to stay the same and just continue to show that growth and show the coaches that I’m growing and show them that I know what I’m doing and I know my plays. Showing that they can trust me.”