The Chicago Bears might actually be one of the most frustrating teams in the NFL for fantasy football purposes. Tight end Colston Loveland is essentially irrelevant in fantasy, and wide receiver Rome Odunze continues to hit right around seven points in a full PPR league each week.
At least Luther Burden III had a breakout night for the Bears against the Philadelphia Eagles. Quarterback Case Keenum threw the ball to Burden 11 times and he finished the game with seven receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown. Kalif Raymond has also continued to impress with 90 receiving yards including a 41-yard touchdown versus the Eagles.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson will not say who the team’s starting quarterback will be for their Week 4 game against the New
York Jets, although fantasy owners probably have different options at quarterback than Case Keenum or Tyson Bagent. The real question is which playmakers from the Bears should be in your starting lineup.
Start: RB D’Andre Swift
D'Andre Swift needs to be in your fantasy lineup. Swift is one of the only reliable fantasy players with double-digit fantasy points in every game this season in FPPR leagues. He also has some receiving upside with nine targets and seven receptions in the past two games. Through the first three weeks, Swift is also the No. 7 running back in FPPR leagues. If he plays, he is a must-start.
Sit: WR Rome Odunze
If you are like me and drafted Rome Odunze, you are very disappointed with how he has played in the first three games. Chicago put up 59 points Week 1 and he only had two catches. The Bears passing game dominated the Philadelphia Eagles and only had three catches and dropped a touchdown. It is clear that Odunze is not the top receiver on this team right now. Also, the matchup against the Jets is not ideal as they have allowed the eighth-fewest fantasy points to receivers per game.
Start: WR Luther Burden III
Let’s assume for a second that Keenum is going to be Chicago’s starting quarterback. In one game with Keenum, Burden had his best game of the season with a career-high in targets (11), his second-most receptions in a game (seven) and his third career touchdown. Keenum being in the lineup is a clear benefit for Burden even with the difficult matchup against the Jets. Now let’s assume Bagent is the starting quarterback. In his one drive against the Minnesota Vikings, Bagent threw the ball to Burden three times; those were Burden’s only three receptions of the game. It is a smaller sample size, but it seems like Bagent starting also benefits Burden. No matter who starts, it benefits Burden and he needs to be in the starting lineup.
Sit: TE Colston Loveland
Colston Loveland finished last season as the leading receiver for the Bears. However, through the first three games of the season, he only has 34 receiving yards on five receptions with no touchdowns. There are numerous tight ends that have put up a better stat-line than that in one game. It does not seem to matter who the quarterback is, Loveland is not producing.
Start: WR Kalif Raymond
Kalif Raymond is Chicago’s leading receiver through the first three weeks of the season. He led the team in receiving yards after their 59-point performance against the Carolina Panthers and he had a 41-yard touchdown with Keenum at quarterback against the Eagles. Right now, Raymond is the No. 12 receiver in FPPR leagues and he is also available in over half of ESPN’s leagues. Pick up Raymond and put him in your starting lineup because he has been a reliable producer in fantasy so far this year.
Sit: Chicago Defense
It makes sense why people are picking up Chicago’s defense. New York’s offense has a reputation for being bad. However, they are mediocre this season instead of being down-right awful and they are not turning the ball over. That is not a recipe for a defense scoring a lot of fantasy points, even if the Bears’ tendency to create turnovers. Consider starting a different defense this week.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Fantasy football starts and sits for Chicago Bears players in Week 4
