Chicago Bears Fantasy Football: Should you bench Allen Robinson?

One of the biggest fantasy football questions lately, which is unfortunate, is what to do with Chicago Bears expected WR1 Allen Robinson. In 2020, Robinson finished as the overall WR9 for fantasy football weeks 1-17 for PPR (points per reception) leagues which led to the expectation for another Top 12 finish for the position in 2021. Through weeks 1-3 this season, Robinson is currently the WR66 overall for fantasy which has burned fantasy managers when playing him so far. Individual weeks so far:

• Week 1: 9.5 fantasy points – WR62 overall
• Week 2: 10.4 fantasy points – WR49 overall
• Week 3: 4.7 fantasy points – WR81 overall

This draws the question – if you roster Allen Robinson for fantasy football, is it time to sit him?

How to address Allen Robinson for fantasy football

In Week 1 vs. the LA Rams did not result in a big fantasy day, but the 11 targets was an initial good sign. In Week 2, Robinson scored vs. the Bengals and also dropped a TD from Justin Fields in a game that had low passing volume from the Bears due to their lead for most of it. This past week with Cleveland was absolutely ugly. The offensive line allowed a great pass-rushing defense to get to rookie Justin Fields far too often, the play-calling was terrible and Justin Fields struggled at times but was never set up to be successful which trickled down to Allen Robinson as well.

Week 4 is a solid matchup against the Detroit Lions who have actually been competing in games this year, but also have given up the 9th most passing yards and are tied for first in points allowed so far this year. This screams a “get right” game for the offense that looked terrible last week. Head Coach Matt Nagy has suggested that the QB situation is up for grabs for this game, but we should expect a second start for Justin Fields. I expect Allen Robinson to see healthy targets in this game and for him to finish as a Top 20 WR this week, which still is below the initial expectations but is improved compared to normal.

When it comes to starts and sits for fantasy football, a lot of the time this is heavily roster dependent. For instance, if Allen Robinson continues to struggle but I have a lack of depth at the WR position, then I may be forced to continue to roll with him. If on the other hand my lineup has most of the talent at the WR position with multiple guys playing as Top 30 WR’s, then I have the luxury of making that sit decision for Robinson. Your fantasy team can be somewhere in the middle of that. Take a look at who you currently have and plug in who you have confidence in vs. throwing multiple darts and hoping they land.

Start Allen Robinson for fantasy football vs. Detroit. It has not been pretty, but this may be that “get right” game where we see him perform to the expectation. Robinson has historically performed well with mediocre QB’s and bad situations, so he can definitely find his stride vs. the Lions this week. If this is yet another week where Robinson is scoring less than 12 fantasy points, then it may be time to improvise via trade or sending him to your fantasy bench until you visibly see a fantasy change. Big week to see where Robinson is heading specifically for fantasy football.