2024 Chicago Bears Fantasy Football Preview

Fantasy football draft season is back in full swing, and many people are conducting their drafts as I write this post. I’m sure that many Chicago Bears fans will be itching to grab some of their favorite players from their hometown team, and if that’s you, then you might want to be careful. While the Bears’ real-life outlook for the 2024 season looks good, the fantasy outlook for individual players is murky.

Let’s look at a few Bears players and their 2024 fantasy football projections (note: this is based on full PPR scoring).

Caleb Williams

Let’s start with QB1. There’s a ton of excitement around the No. 1 overall pick, and deservedly so. Still, it’s hard to trust rookie quarterbacks in fantasy football, especially when there are proven elite options like Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson. Williams does bring some rushing value to the table, but not as much as former Bears quarterback Justin Fields.

On ESPN, he’s ranked as the 13th-best quarterback for this fantasy season, so if you have to have Williams on your roster, you’re better off waiting until after you’ve loaded up with starters at WR, RB, TE, and a few depth options.

DJ Moore/Keenan Allen/Rome Odunze

Despite ending last season as the WR6 overall, Moore is currently ranked in the low 20s. Why? There are simply too many mouths to feed in Chicago.

With the additions of six-time Pro Bowler Keenan Allen and blue-chip rookie Rome Odunze, Moore’s target share is expected to drop. Likewise, despite being the WR8 last season, Allen is expected to see a fantasy regression. In both cases, these receivers should be viewed as high-end WR2s, at best. Don’t expect them to carry your roster.

As for the rookie, Odunze should be considered a late-round flyer. I think he will eventually emerge as Williams’ favorite target, but probably not until the season is nearly over. Stashing him on your roster with a late-round pick might be a league-winning move.

Cole Kmet

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a Chicago Bears player who had a stellar fantasy season last year will not be nearly as reliable in 2024.

Kmet ended 2023 as the TE8, but with all the new pass-catchers in town, his usage is expected to drop. I think the touchdowns will still be there (the big man is clutch in the red zone), but touchdowns are a finicky stat.

I would consider Kmet a streamer at best. Pick him up midseason if your starter is injured or on a bye, or select him near the end of your draft.

D’Andre Swift

Swift is a newcomer to the Bears, and his generous contract tells that the Bears are moving away from the “running back by committee” approach. While Swift won’t be the kind of workhorse that Derrick Henry is, he’s the clear RB1 for Chicago and adds value as a pass catcher, too.

That said, until we know more about his role in Shane Waldron’s offense, it’s tough to see him as anything more than a solid RB2 with the upside to be a low-end RB1. I would take him ahead of a guy like David Montgomery, who will have to share a lot of touches with the young phenom Jahmyr Gibbs, but not before a proven stud like Aaron Jones.

Bears DST

The Bears’ defense and special teams might be the best value of any Bears fantasy player, given where they’re ranked (12th overall on ESPN). Last year, in the eight games before trading for Montez Sweat, the Bears DST unit averaged just over 5 points per game, but in five of those eight games, they scored 2 points or less. They were unplayable almost every week.

After the trade, they averaged just under nine points per game. I’m buying that as a genuine improvement, especially after seeing what the starting defense has done so far in the preseason. You could probably pick up the Bears DST in the last round of your fantasy draft and end up with a Top 5 unit.