Chicago Bears Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

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.

Chargers WR Keenan Allen says he is splitting his time between lining up inside and outside in training camp. That's different from his role under OC Joe Lombardi the past two years. "I was stuck in the slot all the time," Allen said Tuesday, according to Alex Insdorf of Chargers Wire. Indeed, Allen spent 62.6% and 64.3% of pass snaps in the slot the past two years. That followed four years of rates from ranging 49.2% to 54.3%. It sounds like we should expect a return to that range. That should help his average target depth at least a little. Allen also saw his yards per route dip to 1.81 over the past two years vs. 2.09 for the previous four. Just another reason you should chase pieces of the Chargers offense in your drafts. See where Allen and crew sit in our fantasy football rankings.

The Bears' first "unofficial" depth chart lists rookie RB Roschon Johnson third. He unsurprisingly trails incumbent Khalil Herbert and veteran free-agent pickup D'Onta Foreman. Reports have had both working ahead of Johnson in training camp. An earlier version of the depth chart also had Johnson behind Trestan Ebner and Travis Homer, but Chicago corrected that. These early depth charts can often prove to hold no value, and Johnson will need to work past at least one veteran to find 2023 fantasy relevance. But he's in a decent spot considering the limited career production of Herbert and Foreman. None of the Bears' backs cracks the top 36 in our RB rankings.

The Bears are signing Edge Yannick Ngakoue to a one-year, $10.5 million deal, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. He spent 2022 with the Colts after being traded by the Raiders. Ngakoue totaled 19.5 sacks over the past two seasons but has exceeded 10 just once in seven pro seasons. He has also topped 30 total tackles just once, back in 2017. Ngakoue has primarily been a low-impact IDP factor, especially since leaving the Jaguars (after 2019). He should, at least, step into a starting gig in Chicago. There's upside for deeper big-play leagues.

Pro Football Network's Adam Caplan says based on the early practices of training camp, new Eagles RB D'Andre Swift "will easily be the Eagles' most targeted running back." That's been the assumption of most people, of course, since Philadelphia acquired the former Lion in the middle of the NFL Draft. This semi-confirmation is worth noting, though, for anyone wondering if Kenneth Gainwell might fight off Swift in that area. Caplan adds that "most of the passes Swift caught last week appeared to be designed pass plays to him." That would help Swift's receiving volume in an offense that sported the league's second-fewest RB receptions last year. Of course, it's also worth noting that Caplan didn't talk about Swift being the all-around touch leader for the Eagles. We've preferred Rashaad Penny at ADP so far and consider him much more of a fantasy football sleeper than Swift. See how all Philly backs stack up in our RB rankings.

The Bears signed TE Cole Kmet to a four-year, $50 million contract extension with $32.8 million guaranteed. The deal ties Kmet with Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith (LOL) for ninth among TEs in average annual salary. He's now signed through the 2027 season. It's a surprisingly lucrative deal for a guy who's been just fine through three NFL seasons. Kmet has racked up 110 catches over the last two -- 13th most among TEs -- but averaged just 10.5 yards per catch. He ranked 25th and then 22nd at his position in Pro Football Focus receiving grade. Kmet is coming off a TE16 finish in PPR points per game -- and even that was boosted by a 14% TD rate. With WR D.J. Moore bringing additional target competition in a run-heavy offense, Kmet sits in mid-range TE2 territory in our rankings.

The first half of Chargers WR Keenan Allen's 2022 season was wrecked by a hamstring injury. But he was a fantasy football stud over the second half. Allen led all WRs with 60 catches over his final eight games and ranked second to only Justin Jefferson with 83 targets. Allen scored the third most PPR points at his position over those eight contests. He's now finished as a top-13 WR in PPR points per game in six straight seasons and has shown no signs of decline, ranking 12th among 80 qualifying WRs in both Pro Football Focus receiving grade and yards per route run last year. Even with the addition of first-round rookie WR Quentin Johnston, Allen looks like a rock-solid WR2 pick in fantasy football drafts. See exactly where he lands in our WR Rankings.

Bears RB Khalil Herbert indicated the team will utilize a backfield rotation this fall. “You know how things go in the NFL now. They’re doing things running back by committee,” Herbert said. “You need one, two, three really good guys that really carry the rock and there be no drop-off. I feel like we’ve got a really strong group. We’ve got guys who can take it to the house at any given moment. I’m excited to see what we can do.” After averaging 5.7 YPC last year, Herbert said he’s added five pounds, with a goal of playing between 215 and 220. “Just his ability to hit the home run,” HC Matt Eberflus said of Herbert's strengths. “He’s got great vision. He’s got great cut-back ability. He can take the ball outside and bounce it outside, but he’s really good at cutting it back when it’s there. We’re excited where he is.” Scan the RB rankings to see full numbers for Herbert, D'Onta Foreman, and rookie Roschon Johnson.

Bears GM Ryan Poles highlighted RB Roschon Johnson's pass-protection ability when discussing what he likes about the 4th-round rookie. Johnson allowed just eight pressures and two sacks on 160 pass-blocking snaps across four college seasons. Pass-blocking doesn't score us fantasy points, of course. But it gets a RB on the field for the all-important passing downs. Considering Khalil Herbert and D'Onta Foreman's scant pass-catching resumes, Johnson has a good chance to win a passing-down role in Chicago this season.

The Bears selected Cincinnati WR Tyler Scott in Round 4 of the 2023 NFL Draft. Scott played RB in high school – and it shows. He’s excellent with the ball in his hands, combining vision, contact balance, and burst to average 6.6 yards after the catch per reception last year. He also has the speed to win deep, confirmed by a 4.44-second 40 time at the Combine. Scott is a raw prospect with just 1 season of big college production and plenty of work to do in the route-running department. But he has just three years of experience at WR and is only 21, so he should have more room for improvement than your typical rookie receiver. At 5’10 and 177 pounds, he’s likely destined for the slot as a pro. But he can be a dangerous after-catch weapon with seam-stretching ability from the inside. This isn’t a great landing spot for Scott on the run-heavy Bears. He figures to open the season behind at least D.J. Moore, Darnell Mooney, and Chase Claypool. Consider Scott more of a dynasty stash than redraft factor.

The Lions are trading RB D'Andre Swift to the Eagles, according to multiple reports. Detroit gets a fourth-round pick in 2025 and a 30-spot move up in Round 7 this year. A move has been expected since Detroit drafted RB Jahmyr Gibbs in the first round. Swift joins a crowded backfield in Philly but is also likely the best player in the group. We'll see exactly what he can command in terms of regular workload, but we're drafting Swift ahead of Rashaad Penny and Kenneth Gainwell. The other two remain in play for best ball rosters but should come off the board in double-digit rounds. Check our 2023 fantasy football RB rankings for the initial projection on Swift and adjusted numbers for his new backfield mates.