Football season is nearly upon us. Not only are Chicago Bears fans anxious to see their revamped team put last year's league-worst record far behind them, but they should, for the first time in a while, be excited to draft multiple members of the Monsters of the Midway onto their fantasy teams.
The Bears' offense hasn't exactly been a fantasy hotbed in recent years, but this season could change all that. General manager Ryan Poles has made several notable additions to last year's team, which should result in more points on the field, and more fantasy goodness to go around.
Today we'll look at five Chicago Bears you should target in your upcoming fantasy drafts, and what kind of production you can expect to get from them. Let's start with a no-brainer.
Chicago Bears QB, Justin Fields has the talent to win your fantasy league
Any Bears fans who are reading this likely don't need any convincing of Justin Fields' talent. The Ohio State product was basically a one-man team last year, single-handedly keeping the Bears in games despite working with the worst receiving corps in the league.
That is no longer the case. D.J. Moore has dazzled in training camp as Fields' new #1 target, and Chase Claypool (now with a full offseason in Halas Hall) has also impressed when healthy. Even with the recent injury to Teven Jenkins, the offensive line is much-improved thanks to the addition of first-round draft pick Darnell Wright and free agent Nate Davis.
Fields finished last season as the #6 quarterback in standard scoring, even though he missed two games. His September was a month to forget, but Fields then lit the league on fire. From Week 5 through Week 15, he averaged 25.82 points per game. For comparison, Jalen Hurts led the league in quarterback points per game with 25.2.
Fields is entering his third season, which is when many quarterbacks take the proverbial "leap." His offensive line is better than the one that allowed 58 sacks last year, and adding D.J. Moore gives him the dynamic receiving option he's never had as a pro. So why does ESPN have Fields ranked as the #7 quarterback and the 56th overall player?
Any fantasy owner that snags Fields late in the fifth round already has a leg up on the rest of the league. It's not inconceivable that Fields could be fantasy's #1 quarterback this year, and this will be the last year he can be had so late. If you're thinking of drafting someone else, take some advice from Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel:
Mike McDaniel telling Justin Fields to “Stop it” 😂 pic.twitter.com/Ceg0IwzLzU
— PFF (@PFF) November 6, 2022