Bears Fantasy Football Preview: Caleb Williams, D'Andre Swift, D.J Moore, Keenan Allen, Cole Kmet and More

The NFL team fantasy football preview train rolls along.

We’ve looked at the Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets, Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills so far and will be discussing the Chicago Bears next.

Check back soon for more team previews. Of course, things will change between now and the start of the season, and FantasySP will cover any major changes when those happen.

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Caleb Williams Fantasy Outlook

Williams was the first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but he enters the league with a pretty stacked offense around him.

Williams was fantastic in his final two college seasons, throwing for over 8,000 yards. He also had 72 passing touchdowns to just 10 interceptions.

Williams never had more than 500 rushing yards in any of his three collegiate seasons, but accounted for 27 more scores on the ground.

With a loaded offense around him, there’s no reason Williams couldn’t be a real fantasy asset in his rookie season. So far, Williams is QB12 in fantasy drafts, going around pick 100.

While I like Williams’ situation, I also see several quarterbacks being picked after him that I could see outscoring the rookie this season. I’d prefer taking Williams maybe 20 or so picks later, making him QB18 or so. 

Williams has potential, but I certainly wouldn’t want to trust a rookie as my top fantasy QB. Have Williams serve as your No. 2 guy, backing up a proven fantasy vet. If Williams excels in his rookie season, he could be used as trade bait then.

Running Back Fantasy Outlooks

D'Andre Swift will headline the Bears’ backfield this season. Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson are the top backups, while Travis Homer is a deep depth option.

Swift was with the Eagles a season ago. In 16 games, he rushed for 1,049 yards and five touchdowns on 229 attempts. Swift caught 39 of his 49 targets for 214 yards and a score.

Herbert is playing in his fourth season with the Bears. He’s had over 400 rushing yards in every season, but has never gone over 750 yards. He had two rushing touchdowns last season. Herbert added 134 yards and a score on 20 grabs and 31 targets in the passing game.

Johnson played in 15 games during his rookie season in 2023. He rushed 81 times for 352 yards and two scores. Johnson caught 34 of his 40 targets for 209 yards and no scores.

Homer played in 16 games for Chicago a season ago, but did not get an offensive touch. He’d likely only be involved offensively if several backs were injured, and in that case, the team would likely bring in some outside RBs to fill the void instead.

While the Bears have Williams and a nice group of pass catchers, I think the team will also lean pretty heavily on the running game. That will take some of the pressure off Williams and make the offense a tough one to slow.

Swift is the best bet to lead the way, but I also don’t see him as a workhorse. I see Herbert and possibly Johnson also carving out offensive roles this season.

Swift is the 22nd back off fantasy boards right now, going around pick 64. Johnson is RB59 and going around pick 184, while Herbert is RB64 and going around pick 200. Homer is pretty much off the fantasy radar at this point, but does appear on the FantasySP ADP list.

Swift is the back you want from Chicago, but I also wouldn’t look at him as a top fantasy back for any owners out there. He’s an OK second option, and a better third option. I think his ADP is pretty spot on, but I don't think there’s a ton of room to finish above backs taken before him (unless injuries happen).

Herbert and Johnson are both streaming options in standard leagues to start the season in my book. I like them in deeper leagues, and would give the slight edge to Herbert right now. Johnson gets the edge in a dynasty or keeper league.

You can keep Homer off your draft board in pretty much all league types (I know there’s some crazy deep leagues out there, but I’d still think there’s better options than Homer).

Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlooks

D.J. Moore is back in the Chicago wide receiver room, but he’s got new faces around him. First-round pick Rome Odunze and free agent signing Keenan Allen help Moore form one of the league’s top trios.

Tyler Scott, Velus Jones Jr. and DeAndre Carter are backup options at this point, but none look to have big fantasy outlooks right now.

Moore played in 17 games a season ago, hauling in 96 of his 136 targets for 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns. He added 21 rushing yards and a score on four attempts.

Allen has been with the Chargers’ organization his entire career. In 13 games last season, Allen had 108 grabs for 1,243 yards and seven scores on 150 targets. 

Odunze was a star in his final two collegiate seasons, going for over 2,800 total yards and 22 touchdowns. He now gets to learn from two good veteran wideouts, and could be Williams’ go-to receiver in the future.

Scott had 209 total yards on 24 touches in his rookie season in Chicago. Jones has just 281 total yards and two scores in his first two NFL seasons combined. Carter had over 900 total yards and six scores between seasons with Washington and the Chargers, but had just 57 total yards and no scores on seven touches with the Raiders last season. 

Moore is still the receiver you want from the Bears, but his fantasy stock takes a little hit with Odunze and Allen surrounding him now. Moore is being taken as WR20 and around pick 39.

Allen is WR29 and going around pick 65. Odunze is WR39 and going around pick 89 so far. 

I think fantasy owners are viewing Moore through the right lens, meaning I’d take him around his current ADP. There’s a chance he outscores a few guys taken ahead of him, but because he has to fight for targets with Odunze and Allen, I think it’s fair to take him there.

Allen and Odunze also could be steals by the end of the season, but are going where I think they should be right now. They are good value picks and wideouts who could crack your starting lineups early and often.

All the other Bears’ receivers are pretty far off the draft board in standard leagues, and aren’t very great deep league threats either. I’d view each of them as a waiver wire option to start the season, unless one really stands out before the regular season kicks off.

Tight End Fantasy Outlooks

Cole Kmet will lead the Bears’ tight end room again this season. Gerald Everett is a solid backup in case anything were to happen to Kmet.

Kmet had his best season in 2023. In 17 games, he caught 73 of his 90 targets for 719 yards and six touchdowns. 

Everett was with Allen in Los Angeles the past two seasons. In 15 games a year ago, Everett had 51 catches for 411 yards and three scores on 70 total targets.

I could actually see both Kmet and Everett serving at least decent roles in the passing game because of the lack of proven wideouts outside the team’s top three. Kmet will lead the way if he’s healthy, but Everett might be a streaming option if he gels with Williams.

Kmet is TE15 and going around pick 126 right now. That feels and looks very low to me, so if you can take him around that spot, by all means do it. I think his ADP will rise as the regular season nears though. He’s got top-10 finish potential, and should probably be taken closer to TE10 than TE15.

Everett is TE40 and going around pick 292. That means he’ll be a waiver wire option in most standard leagues to open the season, but rostered in a good amount of deeper leagues. He’s definitely a TE to watch this season, because I think he could be one of the better No. 2 TEs in the league. At a weak fantasy position, Everett could be a fantasy starting option some weeks in standard leagues.