Chicago Bears 2021 fantasy football review; 2022 outlook

An NFL team’s offensive production typically has a tight correlation to the output of the team’s players on offense for fantasy football. The Chicago Bears’ offense scored the sixth least total points this season (311) and ninth fewest total yards (5,225) which may have limited the offense’s fantasy football ceilings.

Although we saw some ups and downs for individual players, I think it is important to take a look at the good signs and project what the future can look like. Below are the better fantasy games for the Bears’ offensive players that are returning and a glimpse of what 2022 may hold for them.

**All fantasy scoring reference points per reception (PPR) scoring**

Justin Fields, QB – Chicago Bears fantasy football outlook

• Week 8 vs. SF: 19/27 (70.4%) – 175 passing yards – 1 TD / 1 INT – 10 carries for 103  yards and a TD. 26.30 fantasy points (fpts). QB5 overall
• Week 9 vs. PIT: 17/29 (58.6) – 291 passing yards – 1 TD / 1 INT – 8 carries for 45 yards. 19.14 fpts. QB10 overall
• Week 14 @ GB: 18/33 (54.5) – 224 passing yards – 2 TD / 2 INT – 9 carries for 74 yards. 20.36 fpts. QB10 overall
• Week 15 vs. MIN: 26/39 (66.7%) – 285 – 1 TD – 7 carries for 35 yards. 16.90 fpts. QB10 overall

Justin Fields played nine games with 70% or more of the snaps – in four of them, he was a top-10 fantasy QB (44% of the time) and once a top-five fantasy QB (11.11% of the time).

I referenced the power of the dual-threat QB for fantasy in my preseason Fields article, and how rushing yards = 0.1 points,  passing yards = .04, rushing TDs = 6 points, and passing TDs = 4 points in most fantasy football scoring formats.

In the above games, you can view signs of solid completion percentage (ex: 70.4%), high passing yardage (ex: 291), rushing upside (ex: 103 rushing yards and a rushing TD), and multi-scoring games (ex: two passing TD’s). What needs to change for better success are the sacks (10th most) and the turnovers (interceptions and fumbles).

I am extremely high on Fields in 2022. The Chicago Bears need to address their offensive line as well as make a move to fill Allen Robinson’s “role” to give Fields the best opportunity for success.

Four weeks as a top-10 QB for fantasy is huge – if you play fantasy football you likely play in a 10 or 12-team league which means he would have been a must-start these weeks. The plus arm and dual-threat ability gives Justin Fields an edge over pocket-passers as well as boosts his overall ceiling when he can hit multiple scoring categories. I will be bold here and say expect Justin Fields to be a top-12 2022 fantasy football QB.