5 Chicago Bears who could be fantasy football difference-makers in 2023

Chicago Bears RB, Khalil Herbert is one of the best values in fantasy

The Chicago Bears led the entire NFL in rushing last year, one of the few positives from a 2022 season that had fans perversely rooting for losses by season's end. David Montgomery, the team's top running back, had over 1,100 yards from scrimmage, but he's now in Detroit. For some reason, his successor, Khalil Herbert, is being taken in the eighth round in fantasy drafts, behind 30 other running backs.

Herbert averaged more than 5.5 yards per carry last season, and even though the team signed D'Onta Foreman and drafted Roschon Johnson, he is clearly at the top of the depth chart. With D.J. Moore, Chase Claypool, and Darnell Mooney catching passes, opposing teams will no longer be able to stack the box against the Chicago Bears, but frankly, it doesn't matter if they do. With Herbert's balance and power, he gets his anyway.

Fantasy football is all about talent plus opportunity. Though he was the 217th pick in the 2021 draft, Herbert has already shown the ability to be a very good NFL running back. Now in his third season, he should be even better. With Montgomery and his 235 touches out of town, Herbert's increased opportunity should vault him into RB2 territory, but he's being drafted as an RB3/FLEX.

It wouldn't be a surprise at all to see Khalil Herbert rush for 1,000 yards this season, and with nine catches last year, there's nowhere to go but up in the receiving department (Did you see that 56-yard catch and run against the Titans?). That's a tremendous value in the eighth round.