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“The Monsters of the Midway” moniker has not fit the Chicago Bears in recent years, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
Chicago has not finished with a winning record since 2018, and their offense has been ranked 29th, 26th, and 24th in the NFL during those three subpar seasons. The Bears have given fantasy football players about as much to cheer for as the 0-14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers did back in 1976.
New head honcho Matt Eberflus is a defensive wunderkind, so the jury is out on whether his staff will be equipped to get the most out of Chicago’s Justin Fields-led offense. The Bears also failed to sign any skilled position players during free agency that could provide a major impact. So who will be the breakout, the bust, and the lock on the Bears this year for fantasy football managers? Here is my take!
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Fantasy Football Breakout: Cole Kmet (TE)
Chicago’s top tight end finally broke out of Jimmy Graham’s shadow and more than doubled his reception, receiving yards, and target totals in his sophomore season. That was a mini breakout of sorts since Kmet was far from a fantasy force during his rookie campaign.
His only problem was Chicago should have gifted him a compass or GPS when he signed his rookie contract because he could not find the end zone to save his life. 93 targets, 60 receptions, and zero touchdowns. No tight end caught anywhere near as many passes without scoring in 2021. The next closest was Jacksonville plodder Dan Arnold, who went scoreless on just 35 catches.
The Bears brought in two veteran tight ends, Ryan Griffin and James O’Shaughnessy, during the offseason to add depth, not to take targets away from Kmet. The up-and-coming Kmet has nothing to worry about when it comes to the 1,000 retreads Chicago signed at wide receiver, either.
He will be the second option in the Bears' passing attack behind top target Darnell Mooney and showed good chemistry with Fields during the second half of the 2021 season. I predict Kmet WILL FIND THE END ZONE on his way to a 75-850-6 line that makes his fantasy managers happier than a foodie who eats a Chicago deep dish pizza.
Fantasy Football Bust: Byron Pringle (WR)
Pringle was sprung from fantasy Siberia last year and shocked the world by becoming Kansas City’s No. 2 WR down the stretch of the season. He set career-highs across the board with his final 42-568-5 line and parlayed that into a one-year, $4 million deal with the receiver-starved Bears. With the lack of playmakers on Chicago’s roster at receiver, Pringle lines up to possibly/probably be the second-best player at the position behind the aforementioned 1,000-yard man Mooney.
Pringle has plenty going against him this year, though, which makes me think he will go from busting out to being a bust. First, having Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback to having Fields as his QB is like having filet mignon every week at a fancy restaurant to having Dollar Tree steaks on Sunday afternoons. Nothing against Fields, but he is nowhere near the passer Mr. Mahomes is.
Second, Pringle does not have Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill distracting defenders and allowing him comfortable one-on-one matchups against lesser cornerbacks anymore. Third, Pringle was arrested this offseason for driving with a suspended license, which is the worst way to start with a new team and the best way to have negative juju heading into the 2022 season. Fourth, he suffered a quad injury that has cost him valuable preseason time.
Pringle had one “good” year in the NFL and now comes to a run-first offense with a quarterback who scrambles as much as he throws. Some might expect 800 yards and six touchdowns because Pringle should see a fair number of targets. I think he has just as good of a chance of being relegated to the bench or the waiver wire at some point.
Fantasy Football Lock: David Montgomery (RB)
Montgomery has been Chicago’s top tailback during his first three NFL seasons and has been the unquestioned workhorse of the rushing attack when healthy. He has had times when he has looked like Neal Anderson and times when he has looked like Cedric Benson, but with 3,732 combined yards and 24 total touchdowns, he has had more positive moments than Benson-like ones.
Being the main man in a backfield that will be buoyed by Fields’ nonstop read-option plays will be great for Montgomery’s fantasy value. Even though backup Khalil Herbert looked good in limited action last year, there is no telling how he will be used considering he was virtually ignored by Matt Nagy and his coaching staff at the tail end of 2021.
The wonderful thing about Montgomery is he is a three-down back. He caught 121 passes over his three seasons and does not have to come off the field on third downs or when the Bears are behind. Because of this, Montgomery is rarely a fantasy fiasco who could give his managers a zero fatter than “Refrigerator” Perry in his prime. Montgomery managed less than 70 total yards in only two of his 13 contests last year.
There you have it! Draft Kmet and Montgomery and enjoy watching them rack up meaningless fantasy points in meaningless Bears blowout losses, and stay away from Pringle and allow someone else in your league to waste a late-round pick on him.
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