Bears TE Cole Kmet was on the receiving end of the third of QB Justin Fields' four passing scores in Thursday night's win over the Commanders. Kmet easily beat LB Cody Barton on a crossing route for the four-yard TD. He finished the night with five catches on five targets for 42 yards and the score. WR D.J. Moore dominated in this one, but Kmet finished second on the team in targets, catches, and yards. His 17.2% target share was actually his second-lowest mark through the first five games of the season. He's averaging 5.8 targets on a 19.1% share for the year. With that type of volume -- and QB Justin Fields looking more comfortable as a passer -- Kmet should be viewed as a weekly low-end TE1.
Bears WR D.J. Moore racked up 230 receiving yards and a single-game franchise record three TDs in Thursday night's win over the Commanders. He got going early with a 58-yard deep reception and a 20-yard TD on Chicago's first possession. Moore's assault continued throughout the night with a strong combination of route running and after-catch skills. In fact, he racked up a whopping 141 yards after the catch, per Pro Football Focus. His second TD came on an impressive contested grab from 11 yards out in the second quarter; the third a relatively easy 56-yard catch and run after CB Kendall Fuller tried to jump Moore's route for an INT. Moore has now topped 100 yards in two straight games and three of the last four. More importantly, he's racked up 32 targets on a 27.8% share over the past four weeks. Don't expect the Bears passing game to continue producing anywhere close to how it has these past two weeks. But QB Justin Fields looks improved and can certainly support Moore as at least a WR2 on this type of volume. Plus, Moore has three more favorable matchups on tap vs. the Vikings, Raiders, and Chargers.
Bears RB Roschon Johnson sustained a concussion in the first half of Thursday night's game vs. the Commanders. We'll track his progress through the protocol next week.
Bears S Jaquan Brisker is active for tonight's game against the Commanders. He popped up on the Wednesday injury report with a hamstring issue and entered tonight questionable. But Brisker said he would be ready to play, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. There's obviously added risk to Brisker with the hammy, but he already sat low in our Week 5 DB rankings. Here's hoping you don't need to use him. An already iffy Bears secondary is also missing CB Jaylon Johnson and S Eddie Jackson, who were each ruled out.
Bears WR D.J. Moore caught eight of nine targets for 131 yards and a score in Sunday's loss to the Broncos. This Denver defense is the worst in the league right now, but it was nice to see Moore (and QB Justin Fields) take advantage of the matchup. Moore has now topped 100 yards in two of his last three games. More importantly, he's registered 24%, 30%, and 26% target shares the past three weeks. If Moore continues to see that type of volume -- and this Bears passing game can just be serviceable -- Moore will be a solid weekly fantasy starter. His stretch of favorable matchups continues the next four weeks vs. the Commanders, Vikings, Raiders, and Chargers.
Bears TE Cole Kmet was on the receiving end of two of QB Justin Fields' four TD passes in Sunday's loss to the Broncos. More importantly, Kmet tied for the team lead with nine targets and finished behind only WR D.J. Moore with seven catches and 85 receiving yards. QB Justin Fields might never have a bigger passing day than he did in this one. But Kmet is playing a significant role in this passing game. He's now totaled 24 targets on a 19.5% target share through four weeks. If Fields and this passing game are just OK going forward, Kmet has a shot at top-12 production on that type of volume.
Eagles RB D'Andre Swift carried 14 times for 56 yards and a TD in Sunday's OT win over the Commanders. The 4.0 yards per carry marked a downturn vs. Swift's previous two games. But he beat Kenneth Gainwell by 10 carries and 4-2 in targets. Swift caught all four for 23 yards. He's looking like a weekly fantasy starter until something changes.
Bears WR D.J. Moore roped in 3 of 6 targets for 41 receiving yards and 1 TD in Week 3’s blowout loss vs. the Chiefs. No other pass-catcher exceeded 2 catches or 25 receiving yards. This 41-10 pummeling marks the lowest point of Chicago’s season to date. It’ll be difficult to start any pass-catcher in this offense besides Moore with even a little confidence in Week 4 vs. the Broncos.
Bears rookie RB Roschon Johnson tallied 8 carries for 38 rushing yards and 2 catches on as many targets for 11 yards as a receiver in Week 3 vs. the Chiefs. Neither he nor anyone on the Chicago offense were particularly effective in this poor outing, though this game is notable because Johnson ended up out-touching teammate Khalil Herbert. Herbert logged 8 total touches for 35 yards on Sunday and may have potentially lost his grip on being the lead back. This development will be worth considering ahead of Week 4 vs. the Broncos.
Chargers TE Gerald Everett ranked third on the team with 6 receptions in Sunday's win over the Vikings, snagging all of his targets while producing just 30 yards. Unfortunately for fantasy managers, Everett also watched TE Donald Parham steal 2 TDs. Overall, Everett played just four more snaps than Parham and beat him 24-17 in routes. But that trailed the team's top 3 WRs by 10+ routes. Everett remains a meh fantasy option. And Parham doesn't draw enough targets to be startable in most fantasy formats.
Chargers WR Keenan Allen racked up 20 targets, 18 catches, and 215 yards in Sunday's win at Minnesota. He even added a 49-yard TD pass to WR Mike Williams in the third quarter. Allen claimed 42.6% of QB Justin Herbert's pass attempts, in a game Williams left late with an injury. Allen looks like a weekly must-start as long as he remains healthy. Williams tallied 7 receptions and 121 yards on 8 targets, which ranked a distant second. WR Josh Palmer posted a 4-66-1 receiving line on 7 targets. He'll be worth claiming off the waiver wire in many fantasy football leagues this week, if Williams appears to be in danger of missing the Week 4 home date with the Raiders.
The Eagles will "ride the hot hand" at RB vs. the Bucs on Monday night, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. RB Kenneth Gainwell returns after missing Week 2, when RB D'Andre Swift went off for 175 rushing yards. We're expecting Swift to get the first crack at establishing that hot hand, but this remains a tough backfield to project.
Chargers WR Keenan Allen found the end zone twice in Sunday's OT loss vs. the Titans, totaling 8 receptions on 10 targets for 111 yards. Allen's 31.1 PPR points are a strong contender for this week's No. 1 at the WR position. Teammate Mike Williams also had an effective game, leading Los Angeles with 13 targets and posting 8 catches for 83 yards. We'd anticipated a pass-happy approach for this Chargers' offense under new OC Kellen Moore in 2023, and this week was an example of why fantasy managers should be excited to start this duo in lineups weekly. Week 3's matchup vs. the Vikings should present another excellent spot for solid production for both Allen and Williams.
Bears WR D.J. Moore racked up 104 yards on 6 receptions in Sunday's loss to the Buccaneers. His 7 targets ranked second on the team and accounted for 24.1% of QB Justin Fields' total pass attempts. Moore also garnered 49.3% of Chicago's receiving yards. The Bears passed or took a sack (six of them) on 68.6% of offensive snaps, leaning that way even in the first half. We'll be curious to see if that split continues. The Bears' early tendency toward trailing opponents would certainly help to drive up passing volume. WR Chase Claypool led the team Sunday with 8 targets, catching three for 36 yards and Fields' lone passing TD. TE Cole Kmet finished with 6 targets, 4 receptions and 38 yards. Chicago heads to Kansas City in Week 3 before hosting the Broncos in Week 4.
RB D'Andre Swift dominated the Eagles backfield work and dominated the Vikings defense on Thursday night. With RB Kenneth Gainwell out with a rib injury, Swift handled 28 of 36 RB carries (78%), ripping off 175 yards and a score. Swift displayed impressive vision and explosiveness, running behind an offensive line that manhandled Minnesota's defense. He was a bit unlucky to not have an even bigger fantasy outing, twice getting tackled at the one-yard line. (QB Jalen Hurts scored on the next play both times.) Swift, of course, got just two touches behind a healthy Gainwell in Week 1. But it's tough to imagine the Eagles going away from him as their lead back after this performance.
Eagles HC Nick Siranni confirmed on Wednesday that RB D'Andre Swift's role will vary from game to game. “He’ll be in that role sometimes where he carries the load for the game, and he’ll be in the role sometimes like he was in last game," Sirianni said, to the chagrin of Swift's fantasy owners. "Again, we don’t ever want to come out with him only having those many touches. That’s just kind of how the flow went in the game. We had things called for him, but sometimes the ball doesn’t go for him in a certain way. That’s just the way the defense takes it away. Now, you can always get it to him by just handing it off to him, but I see him being able to play any role that he’s in because of the type of back and the skill set that he has.” Expect Swift to be more involved in Thursday night's game vs. the Vikings, especially if RB Kenneth Gainwell doesn't play.
Bears WR D.J. Moore struggled in his debut vs. the Packers, recording only 2 catches on as many targets for 25 yards. Teammate Darnell Mooney led the team with 7 targets, 4 catches, and 53 yards, along with a receiving TD. It’s bizarre that Moore saw such little volume, considering three different Bears (Mooney, TE Cole Kmet, RB Roschon Johnson) saw 7 targets in the Week 1 loss. Moore’s totals are even more puzzling when realizing that his new QB, Justin Fields, attempted 37 passes, two fewer than his career-high of 39 (2021 Week 15). Hopefully, the veteran can regroup in Week 2 vs. a Buccaneers defense that surrendered the second-most passing yards (344) in the NFL on Sunday. We'll chalk this one up to the occasional bad luck game for now.
The Bears released QB P.J. Walker on Sunday. The veteran inked a two-year, $4.15 million with the team this offseason, though his performance in the preseason was spotty. Walker concluded with 11 completions on 23 attempts for 96 passing yards with one TD, one interception, and a 55.7 passer rating. With Walker gone, the Bears' QB2 job looks to be in the hands of rookie Tyson Bagent, a UDFA from D-II Shepherd University. Dynasty managers in superflex leagues now have an idea of who will take over should injury befall starter Justin Fields at any point. Consider Bagent worthy of a speculative add in deep dynasty superflex leagues.
Bears RB Roschon Johnson’s first-team reps have “increased every week since camp opened,” per The Athletic’s Adam Jahns. In addition, Jahns mentions D’Onta Foreman as a potential “surprise cut.” Khalil Herbert is locked in as the lead back right now. But Johnson is an intriguing late-round stash for an offense that should continue leaning run.
Chargers WR Keenan Allen "has been the focal receiver in [OC] Kellen Moore’s offense during camp," The Athletic's Daniel Popper writes. Moore has been moving Allen all over the formation, and QB Justin Herbert "has trusted Allen to go up and make a play on contested balls." Injury is the only thing that can stop Allen from turning in a big 2023 fantasy season in this high-scoring Chargers offense.
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