Bears RB Khalil Herbert had easily his best outing of the season in the Week 4 loss to the Broncos. He led Chicago with 18 carries and 103 yards, a strong 5.7 yards per carry. Herbert also caught four of five targets for 19 yards and a TD. Herbert played well -- and played well ahead of RB Roschon Johnson, who finished with five carries and one target. But this game was more about Denver's pathetic defense than anything in Chicago's offense. Herbert is a potential sell-high this week if you can find a competitor that views him as a top-25 RB. He gets a tougher draw against the Commanders in Week 5, although that's followed by plus matchups vs. the Vikings, Raiders, and Chargers.
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 RB Khalil Herbert garnered just 7 carries in Sunday's loss to the Buccaneers. He took those for a solid 35 yards (5.0 per rush), while ceding the other 4 RB carries to rookie Roschon Johnson. Chicago ran the ball just 16 times for the game, including four rushes for QB Justin Fields. Herbert edged Johnson 3-2 in targets but caught just one for 23 yards. RB D'Onta Foreman was a healthy scratch for the game, leaving Herbert and Johnson splitting all the work. But the Bears went 68.6% pass for the game, even leaning that way in the first half. If Chicago continues to enjoy playing from behind so much, Herbert will struggle to get enough touch volume to be fantasy viable.
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.
Bears RB Khalil Herbert struggled in Week 1 vs. the Packers, tallying only 27 rushing yards on 9 carries in the divisional loss. He also added 3 catches on 5 targets for 37 yards as a receiver. Despite winning the RB1 job outright in training camp, Herbert fell victim to rookie Roschon Johnson vulturing a goal-line TD in the fourth quarter of play. Johnson also received more targets (7) and only 2 fewer touch opportunities than Herbert in Week 1. The distribution of the RB workloard was so messy that it’ll be tough to trust any Bears back in Week 2 vs. the Buccaneers. However, that shouldn’t stop fantasy managers from checking Johnson’s availability off the waiver wire in deep leagues.
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.
We saw different usage in the Bears backfield in Saturday's preseason finale vs. the Bills. RB Khalil Herbert played the first- and second-down snaps on the first two drives. But he was replaced by RB Roschon Johnson for 3rd-and-10 and 3rd-and-11 snaps. RB D'Onta Foreman played the third drive. Herbert remains the top fantasy option in this backfield, but it doesn't look like his role will be as valuable as we thought after the preseason opener, when he played all seven of QB Justin Fields' snaps.
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.
Eagles RB D'Andre Swift "is still one of many in the running back room, not the main guy," The Athletic's Bo Wulf writes. It's confirmation of how we've been projecting the Philly backfield all along. Swift is the best fantasy bet of the bunch, but he figures to lose too much work to RB Kenneth Gainwell and others to be a real fantasy difference-maker. Check out our full projections for the Eagles backfield.
According to ESPN's Courtney Cronin, Bears HC Matt Eberflus said on Wednesday that RB Khalil Herbert "hasn't done anything to lose the job" of being the team's starter. Eberflus also mentioned that rookie Roschon Johnson "has done a nice job competing" but didn't say much about the other Chicago backs. This news certainly bodes well for Herbert's odds of carrying a majority of the workload this season. Of course, QB Justin Fields will have his share of rushing attempts that take away from him. But if Herbert continues to stave off his backfield competition, he'll be a solid RB3/flex candidate in lineups in 2023. See where Herbert slots in our current RB rankings.
You've probably seen Bears RB Khalil Herbert's 56-yard catch-and-run TD in Saturday's preseason opener by now. But the more important note from that game was that Herbert was on the field for all seven of QB Justin Fields' snaps. RBs D'Onta Foreman and Roschon Johnson didn't play at all with the first-team offense. It's a small sample -- and Herbert obviously won't be a 100% snap rate player in the regular season. But the first glimpse we've gotten of this 2023 Bears offense has Herbert looking like the clear lead back. He's climbing our RB rankings.
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