Chicago Bears Fantasy Breakdown
The 2019 Chicago Bears were a very poor offensive team but they did produce a fantasy stud and I project them to produce more than one this season. Let’s take a gander at the 2020 Bears.
Offseason additions: QB Nick Foles, TE Cole Kmet (R), TE Jimmy Graham, WR Ted Ginn Jr.,
TE Demetrius Harris, WR Darnell Mooney (R).
Offseason subtractions: WR Taylor Gabriel,
TE Trey Burton, QB Chase Daniel,
Quarterback: This Quarterback competition between newcomer Nick Foles and three year starter Mitch Trubisky will be something to monitor for fantasy owners. It’s Foles’ competition to lose right now since he has so much less to prove than his counterpart does. Foles also has experience playing in Nagy’s scheme and has existing relationships with OC Bill Lazor and QB coach John DiFilippo. Trubisky has had a rough go of it in his three year career and shouldn’t be counted on for fantasy if he starts. He had the worst yards per attempt last season with a miserable 5.9. Even the Colts’ Jacoby Brissett finished ahead of Trubisky in fantasy points. If Foles wins the starting job he could be a nice sleeper but I wouldn’t draft him in single QB leagues.
Running Back: Second year back David Montgomery currently has an ADP of #62. That’s a great bargain for a guy who had over 1,000 scrimmage yards, 7 TDs, and 267 touches in his rookie season. He did all of that and finished as a low end RB #2 although he was in one of the worst offenses of 2019. Chicago cleaned house of their offensive coaches and rightfully so. The offense should be somewhat improved this season after those changes and a handful of free agent signings including QB Nick Foles. Even if they can just improve slightly, Montgomery could be a lot more successful with a very good chance at an even heavier workload. Montgomery will most likely outperform his ADP and could be a stud for fantasy teams. “The human joystick” Tarik Cohen has tremendous value in PPR leagues especially if Foles is starting. One of the better receiving backs in the league, he has actually been playing receiver quite a bit as HC Matt Nagy tends to use Cohen out of the slot as well as out of the backfield. He finished last season with 79 receptions and 456 yards on 104 targets. With a current ADP of #124 in PPR formats that’s insane value for a guy who had over 100 targets and will most likely have a QB upgrade. Draft Cohen with confidence in the middle rounds of PPR leagues, I wouldn’t rely on him as my RB #2 or even #3 but if he can stay healthy and get a similar workload he can easily be a top #20 RB. There’s not too much to worry about as far as Cohen battling Montgomery for touches. Cohen only had 64 rush attempts last season and him playing out of the slot allows both backs to be on the field together and both to be involved in the passing game.
Wide Receiver: Allen Robinson was a beast last season finishing as the WR #8 on an impressive stat line of 98/1147/7 on a whopping 154 targets which was good for 3rd in the league. Imagine what he could do with an upgrade at Quarterback? A current ADP of #27 is a pretty sweet price for someone who has a career low of 151 targets when he plays 16 games. Robinson is the man in Chicago and will continue to get a monster workload. Confidently draft Arob as a WR #1 in PPR leagues. Third year man Anthony Miller will be second fiddle to Robinson and should be a great value pick. He improved from his rookie campaign even though he scored five fewer touchdowns; his larger role which included 85 targets was encouraging and should continue to grow. The departure of Taylor Gabriel who had 48 targets and 4 touchdowns in 9 games helps Miller a lot. Miller has a ridiculously low ADP of #135 making him one of the better steal candidates of 2020. Veteran newcomer Ted Ginn Jr., Javon Wims and rookie 5th round pick Darnell Mooney will provide depth and will battle for that 3rd receiver slot.
Tight End: This position was a mess last season and Chicago now has a total of nine Tight Ends on their roster. That number will obviously go down and former pro bowler Jimmy Graham and rookie 2nd round pick Cole Kmet look to lead the way. They both have some value but only in deeper leagues. They have potential but are more in the waiver wire conversation. Kmet is a good option in dynasty formats.
Defense: This squad had a down year finishing as the D/ST #20. That’s a big drop off from two years ago when they were #1. I think they’re going to bounce back this season with some savvy veteran playmakers that they acquired in FA. They lost some key players like Prince Amukamara and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix but they signed pro bowl safety Tashaun Gipson and cornerback Artie Burns. The duo of Robert Quinn and Danny Trevathan is also exciting. I see this unit as a top #10 D/ST but not crazy dominant like they were two years ago.
There’s some uncertainty here with the Quarterback competition but whoever wins that job won’t really make Robinson or Montgomery drop in value because they both performed well last season. There’s a lot of potential here and I think Cohen and Miller could be epic steals as well as Foles if he starts.