With the game on the line and the clock winding down, Jahdae Walker picked the perfect moment to introduce himself to the NFL world.
The undrafted rookie out of Texas A&M made his first career touchdown catch Saturday night - and it couldn’t have come at a more critical time. With just 24 seconds left in regulation, Walker hauled in a 6-yard strike from Caleb Williams to tie things up for the Bears against the Packers, setting the stage for a wild finish in Chicago’s 22-16 overtime win.
Let’s be clear: this wasn’t just a feel-good rookie moment. This was a pressure-packed, game-on-the-line, must-have-it kind of play - and Walker delivered.
And if that wasn’t dramatic enough, DJ Moore put the exclamation point on the night with a 46-yard touchdown in overtime, capping off a comeback that will be talked about in Chicago for a long time.
For Walker, this game was more than just a breakout - it was a breakthrough. He finished with two catches for 21 yards on three targets, modest numbers on paper, but every yard mattered. These were the first receptions of his pro career, and they came in a rivalry game with playoff implications and the spotlight burning bright.
Walker saw a significant uptick in playing time, logging 27 percent of the Bears’ offensive snaps. That jump came largely due to the absence of rookie standout Rome Odunze, who sat out with an ankle injury. Before Saturday night, Walker had played just nine total snaps across four games this season.
His journey to this moment didn’t follow the traditional path. Walker went undrafted in 2025 after two solid seasons at Texas A&M, where he posted 64 catches for 935 yards and four touchdowns across the 2023 and 2024 campaigns. Before that, he spent two seasons at Division II Grand Valley State, where he quietly built the foundation of his game.
But if you were paying attention in the preseason, Walker was already making noise. In his debut against Miami, he caught three passes for 41 yards and a touchdown. Then, in the Bears’ preseason finale, he came up big again - three more catches, including a game-winner against Kansas City.
Those flashes were hard to ignore. And now, under the bright lights of a December showdown with the Packers, Walker turned potential into production.
For a Bears team that’s still figuring out its identity and leaning heavily on young talent, Walker’s emergence couldn’t have come at a better time. Whether this was a one-night spark or the beginning of something bigger remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure: Jahdae Walker made his name known - and he did it in style.