Re eiver did not need to change speeds or adjust much to catch it.

This is impressive, but not surprising.

There's only been a handful of QBs in history who threw a good deep ball around that age: Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre, John Elway, Warren Moon, Steve Young.

Who am I missing? Can't be too many more.

The percentage of QBs still playing at 36 is small.
Now, it has to be a 36 year old with a big arm.
I'd be tempted to add Fouts to your list, but I never thought of him as a bomber, but a precision timing guy.
Naturally, he had a strong arm; every NFL QB does.
How about Ken Anderson? He was playing at 37, but not full seasons, so the deep ball may have been gone.
I'm glad you included Warren Moon. IMO, nobody ever threw a better deep ball than Warren.

and that year wasn't anywhere near his best, of course.

Similar for Ken Anderson. He hung around until age 37, but at ages 36 and 37 he was only slinging the pigskin 44 yards max, whereas at age 35 he still hit 80 yards!

One fellow I forgot was Peyton Manning. He had phenomenal seasons at age 36, 37 and 38. Then, rather ironically, while he was vastly diminished by a torn quad and plantar fasciitis at age 39, he won a Superbowl with the Broncos, but that was largely owing to the team's amazing defense.

And another guy I failed to mention was Dan Marino, who was very good right up until a rather steep decline at age 38. Then he called it a career.

I'd always put Marino up there.
His legs betrayed him ad he got older, not his arm.
I'd still be torn between Brady, Marino or Montana (in their primes) if I had to pick one QB for my team.
For Marino, I never saw a guy with a faster release until Lamar Jackson who also has an instant throwing motion.
I'm still salty about the Bears losing their only game (while scoring 24 points) because Ryan would not adjust the defense when the opponent had one of the best O-Lines in the NFL, with a QB with a lightning release, and 2 wide-outs who were super quick. Despite their legendary status, the defense ruined a perfect season. I guess Marino still scares me!

but it had not occurred to me that the Bears have never really had a "franchise" QB. Jim McMahon was clutch, obviously, and helped them win a Super Bowl, but he's not even a hall of famer (injuries hurt his chances there too).

Just never a real standout at that key position. Seeing as you're a fan of the team, I'm not telling you anything you don't know, it just sort of "clicked" for me now as we're having this discussion about quarterbacks.

Hopefully Caleb Williams develops into that guy!

But, brittle.
Plus, Charles Martin ruined his career with an act that would have been felony assault off the football field.
If he could have stayed healthy, he would at least been in consideration for the HoF.
He was very efficient, could escape pressure, he read defenses better than any Bears QB ever, and his offense loved him.
He had the misfortune of playing at the sane time as Montana, Marino, & Elway. That's an impossibly high standard.

This guy isn't your savior, but he's made his dad proud, no doubt.

Link to tweet

I have a feeling this guy is going to be a number 2 for a long time.
Probably going to have a very long & lucrative career as insurance against injury.