On his third preseason snap as a member of the Bears last year, wide receiver DJ Moore took a screen pass 62 yards for a touchdown.

‘‘When you increase your skill on your football team,’’ coach Matt Eberflus said then, ‘‘the catch-and-runs get larger and the stat lines look better.’’

On his second preseason snap as a member of the Bears on Saturday, running back D’Andre Swift took a screen pass 42 yards in an eventual 33-6 victory against the Bills.

Swift was a logical extension of the Bears’ quest to surround their quarterback with skill players, even though Caleb Williams — who wasn’t even drafted when Swift signed as a free agent in March — is different from their 2023 model.

Swift, who signed a three-year, $24 million deal, was the ultimate luxury item for a team with plenty of money. The Bears went from spending $5.78 million in salary-cap space on all their running backs combined last season to paying Swift $5.83 million in cap space this season. Only seven running backs in the NFL make more.

On Saturday, Swift appeared to be worth every penny.

On the fifth play of the game — first-and-10 from the Bears’ 40 — Swift pretended to pass-block, stutter-stepped and waited for the trap to be set. By the time Williams tossed a middle screen to him, looking for all the world like a shot-putter on fast-forward, he had two blockers in front of him.

Swift caught the ball at the line of scrimmage and bounced left around a block from center Coleman Shelton. He outran cornerback Rasul Douglas up the sideline and, at the Bills’ 25, decided to cut back inside. He might have made it all the way to the end zone had he not stumbled to the ground.

‘‘Swift is a guy that’s dynamic and has got a lot of good speed,’’ Eberflus said. ‘‘He’s just gotta kick his feet up at the end there.’’

Swift had to settle for a 42-yard gain, and the Bears eventually settled for a field goal.

‘‘I saw it open and could feel the defenders kind of breaking through the line, which they should on a screen,’’ Williams said. ‘‘The offensive line did a great job making it seem believable, as if they were going to let up a sack . . . and [I tossed] it over their head.’’

It was the Bears’ longest offensive play of the day.

‘‘[Williams] did a helluva job avoiding the pressure and making something happen,’’ Swift said.

Once he got the ball in his hands, Swift did, too. Just like Moore did a year ago, Swift sat down for good after his long screen. Moore played three snaps and Swift two.

The Bears hope Swift can do for their running backs what Moore did for their wide receivers last season. Both joined a position group whose best player was an ascending, if inconsistent, fourth-year man — Darnell Mooney in 2023 and Khalil Herbert in 2024 — with young players pushing him. Wide receiver Tyler Scott was a rookie last season, and running back Roschon Johnson is a second-year player this season.

In both cases, adding a top-level player gave the Bears a top option and improved their skill down the depth chart.

Swift, who made his first Pro Bowl last season, said he thinks there’s a new level he can reach. He has 195 career receptions. Had the screen Saturday happened in a regular-season game, it would have been the third-longest catch of his career.