Start’em or Sit’em in Fantasy Football: Bears vs Vikings |
It is officially the Fantasy Football Playoffs. Whether you are making a championship push or playing in a consolation game, there are a few Bears players you should consider putting in your starting lineup despite Chicago's dismal offensive performance against the San Francisco 49ers.
Caleb Williams - Start If You Need a QB Are you in the playoffs with a quarterback you are not confident in? Have you been streaming quarterbacks the entire season? If so, Williams could be a solution going against the Minnesota Vikings this coming Monday (7 p.m. / ABC). Minnesota may have the most interceptions in the league currently, with 20, but the last time Williams played against this defense, he did not have a turnover. In fact, the last time Williams faced the Vikings defense, he put up 340 passing yards and two passing touchdowns, as well as 33 rushing yards. Minnesota has given up the third-most passing yards this season, so Williams should be in line for another big game. The one concern for whether this production will actually happen is the change in head coach. Matt Eberflus was not good for anyone’s fantasy stock. However, in Thomas Brown’s first game as head coach, the offensive production was embarrassing. There could be some concern that it would happen again against Minnesota. However, given that Brown is the play-caller as he was against the Vikings earlier in the season, Williams should have a bounce-back game this week. DJ Moore - Risky Start, But Lots of Upside The yards have not been what fantasy owners would have liked, and the touchdowns are not where they were last season. Nonetheless, he is Chicago in targets 104, receptions (68), and receiving yards (712). He is also tied with fellow veteran receiver Keenan Allen for receiving touchdowns with five. Minnesota is one of the worst defenses against wide receivers fantasy-wise, as they give up the second-most points to receivers. The last time Moore faced the Vikings, he went off for seven receptions, 106 receiving yards, and a touchdown in one of his best fantasy performances of the season. Again, the lack of offensive production in Brown’s first week as head coach is a concern, but the Vikings are a good matchup for Chicago to rebound against in the passing game. D’Andre Swift - Sit Regardless of His Availability Running back Roschon Johnson’s week did not start off well, as he could not practice on Thursday due to his concussion. However, that honestly does not matter for Swift’s fantasy value. He has one touchdown since Brown took over offensive play calling. When he was essentially Chicago’s only running back in the final quarter against San Francisco, he only got the ball once. While being behind by so many points did not help, he finished the game averaging 2.7 yards per carry; Williams did better when running the ball. In addition, he was also unable to practice on Thursday. Regardless of whether he can play, Swift should stay on the bench in all fantasy formats. Cole Kmet - Sit Kmet has arguably been one of the more inconsistent players on Chicago’s roster as far as fantasy value goes. The Bears’ loss to the 49ers marked the second time this season Kmet was not even targeted, which is bizarre given he played 92 percent of the offensive snaps against San Francisco. While Kmet has a few big games this year, including the last time Chicago played the Vikings as Kmet put up seven receptions for 64 yards, Kmet is a player who should stay on the bench this week. This is especially true if your championship hopes depend on winning this week. Rome Odunze - Start If You Like Upside Rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze has also been a volatile fantasy player this year. He did not make much of a splash last time Chicago faced Minnesota, but he did last week when he recorded the Bears’ only touchdowns of the game. It marked the first multi-touchdown game of his career. Odunze is third on the Bears in targets (81) and second in receiving yards (585). His 13 yards per reception lead Chicago this season. He is consistently someone Williams is looking to get the ball to. Since Brown became the offensive playcaller, Odunze has had two games with at least ten targets; that only happened once with Shane Waldron as offensive coordinator. Odunze is getting the looks to make him a player with a high upside in this important fantasy week.
