Christian McCaffrey – McCaffrey picked up an oblique injury in Sunday’s loss to the Cleveland Browns. The good news is the 49ers don’t play until Monday night. Still, there is cause for concern for McCaffrey owners and how serious the injury is. We should know more later on Wednesday after the 49ers practice report.

Trevor Lawrence – Lawrence suffered a knee injury late in Jacksonville’s win over the Colts. At this point, it looks like he avoided any serious injury and was limited at Tuesday’s practice. Keep in mind, the Jaguars play on Thursday night and if Lawrence is still having soreness he may be sidelined.

David Montgomery – Montgomery is dealing with an injury to his ribs that may keep him out of the week 7 matchup versus Baltimore. Head coach Dan Campbell recently stated that he will be out “a little bit” which is vague but doesn’t look good for Sunday.

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Before the season started head coach Dan Campbell indicated that Gibbs would be eased into his role with the Lions. It’s a smart move on the Lions part so he doesn’t get too overwhelmed with the pro game. Fellow running back David Montgomery received a majority of the touches including a go-ahead rushing touchdown. While this was aggravating for Gibbs owners it’s important to be patient with him.

We all could see that Gibbs was the more explosive back and when you look at the stats, they back that up. Gibbs averaged 6.7 yards per touch including a game-high 18 yard run. In contrast, Montgomery averaged just 3.5 yards per touch and lacked explosiveness. We expected to see speed from Gibbs but he also had 6 broken tackles in the game.

Gibbs owners should stand pat as his usage will start to ramp up. It’s only a matter of time until he gets a majority of the touches. When that happens you can expect big-time results for your fantasy team.

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RB D’Andre Swift Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles

Many people were wondering what the Lions were doing when they drafted Jahmyr Gibbs in the first round when they already had D’Andrew Swift and signed David Montgomery. Now we know that D’Andre Swift had requested a trade and he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. The rich keep getting richer as the Eagles now boast the most talented team in the NFL. In terms of fantasy performance, expect D’Andre Swift’s performance to dip as the Eagles are loaded in the RB position. The Eagles will most likely spread around the reps as they have Rashaad Penny, Kenneth Gainwell, and Boston Scott.

QB Jordan Love Gets Paid and is Now the Face of Green Bay

Now that the hoopla in Green Bay is over, the Jordan Love era finally begins in Green Bay. Love had waited his turn and can finally be called the starting QB of the Packers. His patience was rewarded when the Packers gave him a contract extension of up to $22.5 million, $13.5 million guaranteed. This offseason will be crucial for him and we will see which of the receivers are building a great connection with him.

WR Randall Cobb Follows Aaron Rodgers to New York

Another pal of Aaron Rodgers is going to the Jets as they have signed Randall Cobb to a one-year deal. This gives added security to the wide receiver core of the Jets as they have Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard, and other weapons. With the Jets using what Rodgers loves on offense, Cobb ill be a good mentor to the younger ones to get them up to speed with the playbook. I don’t expect much from Cobb with all the names ahead of him. But he could have some vintage performances with Rodgers.

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By: Jake Rajala

Week 5 was quite intense and even chaotic, to say the least. There was also more clarity of ability from countless figures in fantasy football. With that said, I’m going to take a sharp, unique angle by untwining five flex players to move on from entering Week 6.

Terry McLaurin

Terry simply hasn’t been scary as of late. Terry McLaurin inked a hefty contract extension this past off-season, but he has only notched 326 receiving yards & a mere one touchdown grab (which is really disappointing) in 2022. McLaurin ranks 31st in the league and second on the team (behind Curtis Samuel) in targets at this moment. In dynasty leagues, his situation with Carson Wentz and his 1-4 squad shouldn’t also be deemed sexy.

Michael Thomas

The injury-prone Michael Thomas can be a borderline 1,000+ yard WR, but I don’t love his ability to be an elite wideout with Chris Olave really climbing the ladder and his QB situation (with Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston) being a bit of a mess. Winston has only thrown four touchdowns to five interceptions & he’s missed each of the past two contests. It’s fair to elaborate that Thomas could be unreliable in chapters of this 2022 season, as he’s usually been MIA over the past two years.

David Montgomery

The Chicago Bears don’t have the most powerful offense led by Justin Fields. Although, they’ve witnessed star power from Khalil Herbert (328 rushing yds, 3 rushing TDs, and 5.8 YPC). Herbert’s rise to fame also means that Montgomery is more expendable. Montgomery has had a less-than-favorable 179 rushing yards (with nine catches for 100 yards). He’s also had injury issues already, too. It may be wise to ship out the Bears RB that hasn’t quite risen to become a Pro Bowl player.

Brandon Aiyuk

The San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk isn’t looking like he will catch up to the speed that Deebo Samuel yields with Jimmy G. Aiyuk is projected to have 806 yards and a mere three touchdowns by ESPN. He’s currently 50th in the league in targets. It may be worth shipping him away to a 49ers faithful, especially in a dynasty league.

Robbie Anderson

Matt Rhule was axed from his squad and it also might be time to give up on Robbie Anderson, too. Anderson has five catches in the past three games & a whopping one touchdown on the season. It’s clear that the once 1,000+ yard WR in Carolina is a shell of himself right now.

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The Chicago Bears clearly have a chaotic offense right now, but they have a star in David Montgomery. The Bears RB has been up and down player over the past three seasons. Most recently, he would have displayed a productive season if healthy for all of 2021. He has accumulated 2,808 yards, 21 touchdowns, and averaged 3.9 YPC in his career thus far. His 2020 campaign was clearly his highlight (1,508 yards total yards and 10 total touchdowns two seasons ago).

Montgomery has also been special in moments (see above) surrounded by a pedestrian OL and QB situation, while RBs like Zeke Elliot has been less impressive or near the same caliber in a more talented situation. Montgomery isn’t getting a lot of love from dynasty managers in this day in age. He’s ranked as the 16th best RB via Fantasy Pros in dynasty. He could be seen as the poor man’s version of Josh Jacobs, which may be a true reflection of his career leading up to this point. Montgomery would have likely unveiled a more impressive season in 2021 if he didn’t suffer a knee sprain in Week 4.

Montgomery has a fine floor, but I also expect him to absolutely have the ability to return to being a star and turn heads in the NFC. I do feel strongly about the Matt Nagy-less play calling helping Montgomery and Fields flourish in a more methodical offense.

His division competition is also weak. The Lions held the 28th ranked rushing defense last season and the Vikings unleashed the 26th ranked run defense in 2021. He was mediocre against the Vikings, but he had his best performance against the Lions last season (106 rushing yds, 2 touchdowns).

The Bears may have little draft ammunition in the upcoming draft, but they still use their early pick to likely pick an OT. Expect CHI to really build around their QB-RB duo in 2022, 2023, and 2024. The three-down RB is confusing at times, but I like him to be slightly better than his FP ranking.

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By: Dylan Clemons

The Chicago Bears are coming into this season hoping that their offense will improve. The offense the last three seasons since Matt Nagy has taken over as Head Coach has ranked, 21st, 29th, and 26th in total yards. In points scored in those three seasons, they ranked 9th, 22nd, and 29th. To put it nicely those numbers aren’t good, considering Nagy was brought in as an offensive-minded coach from the Andy Reid coaching tree.

Coming into this season, The Bears have made a few changes to the offense. The big change is at quarterback, moving on from former first-round pick Mitchell Trubisky. They brought in veteran Andy Dalton via free agency and drafted Justin Fields in the first round. Chicago also added a ton of speed to that side of the ball as well bringing in running back Damian Williams, and wide receivers Dimare Byrd and Marquise Goodwin.

The Bears hope those changes can at least bring their offense to at least the middle of the pack in the league. Now, I’m going to jump into who I believe are the three most important players on the offensive side of the football for the Bears to have success this season.

Allen Robinson, Wide Receiver

Allen Robinson has been the most consistent offensive player on the team during his three years in Chicago. No matter who the quarterback is, Robison always seems to produce. In Robinson’s three seasons with the team, he has caught passes from Mitchell Trubisky, Nick Foles, and Chase Daniels.

Those quarterbacks are nothing to write home about. However, it hasn’t hurt his production. Robinson saw 151 targets last season while catching 102 balls for 1,250 yards and six touchdowns. He also so the 4th most red-zone targets in the NFL last season with 19, so maybe with better quarterback play, the touchdowns will go up.

With all this production you would think that signing Robinson to a long-term extension would be a top priority for the Bears. Unfortunately, the two parties haven’t been able to come to terms with an extension during the last two off-seasons. Robinson will be playing the season on the franchise tag, which is something he isn’t happy about.

If Allen Robinson where to go down with injury the Bears would lack a true number one option in the passing game. They have some depth at receiver position with Anthony Miller, Darnell Mooney, Damiere Byrd, and Marquise Goodwin. However, all of them guys don’t have skills, or the body types to be a true number one option in an offense. For the bear as offense to take a step forward this season, Robinson will have to be a huge part in the offense.

Teven Jenkins, Offenisve Tackle

The Bears drafted Teven Jenkins out of Oklahoma State with the 39th pick of the NFL Draft. It was a surprise to many, that he had fallen to the second round, considering he was projected by most to be a 1st round pick. However he played mostly at the right tackle position in college, but the Bears project him to be the left tackle of the future.

The Offensive line has been a struggle for the Bears over the past few seasons. According to PFF, the Bears finished as the 20th best offensive line in football last season. That was helped by a late-season shuffle of the line. Adding Sam Mustipher to the lineup as the center, and moving pro-bowler Cody Whitehair to left guard, where he was graded as the third-best Left guard in football.

Jenkins was drafted to take the spot of seven-year starter Charles Leno. Leno was kind of a disappointment his last few seasons for the Bears, which led him to get cut this off-season. But as a former 7th round draft selection, it’s safe to say Leno outplayed his expectations.

Teven Jenkins was a first-team all-conference in the Big 12 in his senior season. He is known to be somewhat of a mauler as an offensive lineman. He Projects to be a solid run-blocker with his ability to flatten the edge for running backs. However, his short arms may hurt him in pass-blocking, with Longer athletic pass rushers can stab and separate from him. 

Some scouts and the Bears believe Jenkins can come in and be a solid starter on the line. Hopefully, that is true, because the Bears don’t have much depth behind him at left tackle. With Justin Fields most likely starting at some point this season, it’s important for a rookie QB to feel comfortable in the pocket. Especially with Jenkins being on Fields’ blind side.

Andy Dalton, Justin Fields, Quarterbacks 

I felt like it would be criminal to leave the quarterback position off this list. But it is impossible for me to only talk about one of these guys. 

I have a feeling it’s going to be a similar situation to what the Dolphins did last season. The Dolphins were 3-3 with Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback, who was playing pretty well. But the Dolphins couldn’t fight off the temptation of the first-round pick Tua Tagovailoa and they made the switch. I see the same thing happening to Andy Dalton with Justin Fields.

Andy Dalton spent last season with Dallas Cowboys. He ended up having to take over for the injured Dak Prescott in Week 6. Dallas was 4-5 with Dalton at the helm. Dalton was very serviceable, throwing 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 65% of his passes. I see Dalton being solid as the starter, but he’s obviously not the long-term plan.

Justin Fields is the long-term plan at quarterback in Chicago. He will be coming into the season as the QB2 in this offense. I don’t expect that to be the case for very long though. The Bears have been searching for a franchise quarterback for the entirety of their existence. Coach Matt Nagy and GM Ryan Pace are on the hot seat, so I don’t believe they can wait very long.

In 2019 Fields rushed for 484 yards with 10 rushing touchdowns at Ohio State. Fields also ran a 4.46 40 yard dash on his pro day. He also happened to throw 41 touchdowns as well compared to only three interceptions. I have a feeling that Fields will take over at quarterback in Week 4 against the bad Detroit Lions team. That game gives him a solid confidence boost as he takes the reigns of the offense for the rest of the season.

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A few short months ago I was writing articles about general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy’s impending firings, so I understand as well as anyone that a Chicago Bears Super Bowl run sounds a bit farfetched right now, but NFL franchises often flip the script overnight in this league and it can all start with one move.

Now I know I just finished saying that Chicago’s chances aren’t reliant on Fields’ immediate stardom, and they’re not, but his potential as a generational quarterback talent is certainly the conductor of the hype train.

Truth is, I have been against this regime for quite some time. The trade up for the unproven Mitchell Trubisky, the horrid playcalling by Nagy that seemed to stunt the growth of not only Trubisky but running back David Montgomery, the indecision at QB and the miserable ideas to bring in Nick Foles and Andy Dalton as “saviors” when every NFL fan under the sun knows that these veterans are no more than underwhelming game managers. Yes, I know Foles won a Super Bowl, but that Philadelphia Eagles roster was built like a tank and this Bears one is not.

It’s been a tough road for Bears fans ever since Vic Fangio’s defense (led by Khalil Mack) shattered expectations in 2018. Not tough like 1-15 record tough, but more “what could have been” tough. The knowledge that your putrid offense is holding back and possibly wasting a championship caliber defense is difficult to stomach (especially when you traded a ton of your future draft capital for the catalyst of that unit in Mack).

This defense has a window, and that window is closing fast. Mack is under contract till 2025, but his cap hit is exorbitant after 2021 (unless Chicago takes the potential out next offseason at a $24 million dollar hit). That 2018 group has already seen losses like Fangio (DC), Kyle Fuller (CB1), Adrian Amos (S), Prince Amukamara (CB2, age caught up fast here), Bryce Callahan (slot), Leonard Floyd (edge) and more. Mack’s departure could be the final nail in the coffin, sealing that window for good.

The emergence of a unique prospect like Fields at QB gives Chicago a shot in 2021, but there are a few other factors that have a Jets fan like me all aboard the Bears bandwagon.

1. NFC in Decline

With Drew Brees retiring, the NFC East in total dissarray, Aaron Rodgers wanting out of Green Bay, and the NFC West all beating up on eachother, there aren’t many Super Bowl favorites in the NFC outside of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In what has become a conference shift in strength, we now see a lot of the bright young quarterbacks in the AFC (Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Baker Mayfield and Deshaun Watson should he return to Houston) while the NFC is left wanting.

An Aaron Rodgers trade to a franchise like the Denver Broncos could totally blow the doors off this conversation. Not only that, it would leave a gaping hole in the NFC North with the Detroit Lions rebuilding and the Minnesota Vikings as a playoff bubble team at best. The Green Bay Packers are one of the NFC’s (and Bears’) strongest competitors left, and if there’s any truth to the rumors, that Cheesehead locomotive may have already flown off the tracks.

2. Phenomenal ’21 Draft

We all know about the Justin Fields selection, but the Bears 2021 draft went much further than that. Pace was drafting like his job was on the line and he answered the bell with some really solid picks.

Just after trading up to get the franchise QB, Pace was able to nab the left tackle to pair with him for years to come, in Teven Jenkins. Many thought the Oklahoma State Cowboys 6’6″ tackle would go in the first, but he slipped to day two and the Bears did not hesitate. Later on he bulked the offensive line again, drafting upside guard prospect Larry Borom out of Missouri.

One trouble area may be cornerback with Fuller gone, but sixth rounder Thomas Graham Jr. had sleeper grades from many analysts out of Oregon. The former Duck could help fill the void, but Chicago will also need something from 2020 second rounder Jaylon Johnson (just turned 22 in April), and free agent flier Desmond Trufant.

3. Key Vets Returning After 2020 Season

I wasn’t particularly high on the 2020 Bears defense, in part because I knew the offense would struggle, but also because some instrumental pieces were missing.

One major cog to account for was nose tackle Eddie Goldman, a 2020 COVID opt-out. Goldman had 40-plus tackles in 2017 and ’18 as one of the premier run-stuffers in the game. 2021 is only his age-27 season, so Chicago will count on the DT to return with avengeance after a year on the pine.

Alongside Akiem Hicks, Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn, this unit is still very formidable up front. The linebacker core also flaunts Roquan Smith and Danny Trevathan in the middle, with free safety Eddie Jackson over the top. LB Christian Jones joins this crew, and they’ll also look to re-sign or replace strong safety Tash Gipson before preseason begins. Gipson started all 16 games with the Bears a season ago, and is currently an unrestricted free agent.

Let’s not forget the offensive side of the ball, as Pace held onto wide receiver Allen Robinson for dear life. New faces like Damien Williams, Damiere Byrd, Dazz Newsome, Khalil Herbert and Marquise Goodwin add some versatility to a group that needs to get more creative behind Fields and Nagy.

This defense may be slightly diminished from 2018, but it’s still pretty darn good, and this offense could theoretically become much more dynamic with a quarterback like Fields at the helm. Am I slightly worried that Nagy may just be a terrible coach? Absolutely. This is a make or break season for the HC though, so I expect him to pull out all the stops.

At the very least, I see the Bears as a playoff team again in 2021, but at +4800 odds right now on FanDuel Sportsbook, Chicago may just be the biggest sleeper pick to win Super Bowl LVI.

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