Chicago Bears

Head Coach: John Fox (2nd year)
Offensive Coordinator: Dowell Loggains (1st year)
Defensive Coordinator: Vic Fangio (2nd year)

Depth Chart

Quarterback: Jay Cutler, Brian Hoyer
Running Back: Jeremy Langford, Jordan Howard (r), Ka’Deem Carey, Jacquizz Rodgers
Wide Receiver: Alshon Jeffery, Kevin White, Eddie Royal, Josh Bellamy, Marc Mariani
Tight End: Zach Miller, Rob Housler
Kicker: Robbie Gould
Defense/Spec Teams: 2015-Finished 14th in yards against and 20th in points against. Finished 22nd in sacks and 30th in interceptions.

Coaching Philosophy

Last season when I wrote about the Chicago Bears and their offensive philosophy, I wrote that offensive coordinator (as of last year), Adam Gase could be a head coach sooner, rather than later. Well, apparently Nostradumbass was right and now Gase is the head coach in Miami and former quarterbacks coach, Dowell Loggains has been promoted to offensive coordinator. Loggains has had moderate success in his eight seasons as an NFL quarterbacks coach with the likes of Vince Young, Matt Hasselbeck, Brian Hoyer and (gulp) Johnny Football. Cutler had slight reductions in his counting stats last season but saw slight improvements in his QBR and quarterback rating. It remains to be seen whether Loggains and head coach, John Fox will rely heavily on the passing attack or rushing game, but one thing we know about John Fox is that he likes to use multiple running backs out of the backfield and that makes me nervous about drafting a Bears’ running back.

Fantasy Outlook

Bears Quarterbacks

Jay Cutler is Jay Cutler. In his ten NFL seasons, he’s only thrown for over 4,000 yards once, He’s never thrown for 30 or more touchdowns and he absolutely loves to throw interceptions. Not only that, but he’s only been able to play in all 16 games three times in his ten seasons. Not exactly what I’m looking for in a fantasy quarterback. There is a bright side though. Alshon Jeffery was injured last year and Kevin White didn’t play a snap, so if healthy, he does have some very nice weapons to throw too. It also helps to have his former quarterbacks coach is now the offensive coordinator, but those things just aren’t enough for me to feel good about promoting Cutler as a fantasy QB. To me, he’s a guy that should go undrafted and picked up on the weeks where you may be dealing with injuries or bye weeks.

Bears Runing Backs

Another time that Jeremy Langford couldn’t break a tackle. Go figure.

Long time Bears’ running back, Matt Forte is now gone and in his place is second year back, Jeremy Langford as well as a bevy of “other guys”. Many people like Langford, as he did very well at times last season. In Weeks 9 and 10 he scored at least 25 fantasy points in each topped by a 37 point effort in Week 10. However, there are some signs that are making me fade him a bit. First of all, he only averaged 3.6 yards per rushing attempt, which led him to never hitting the century mark as far as rushing yards per game. He also only forced seven missed tackles on the season, which was by far the worst of any running back who had at least 100 carries. I think my two year old even tackled him on one play. He only rushed for more than 15 yards two times over the whole season and he averaged a miserable 1.8 yards after contact. Not necessarily inspiring numbers for a running back. He did have 22 receptions on the season, but considering he had eight drops which led all running backs and good for ninth overall in the league, I’m not sure how effective he is with his hands of stone. Throw in the fact that there is the potential for the dreaded running back by committee, and I am going to take a pass on Langford and his current average draft position in the fifth round.

Ka’Deem Carey and Jacquizz Rodgers have the possibility to play minor parts in the offense, but quite honestly, are not draft worthy players for fantasy purposes. However, the Bears drafted Jordan Howard in the fifth round, and he intrigues me a bit. He may not have the top end speed that some possess, but unlike Langford, Howard is a very physical runner. Out of all running backs drafted in last years’ class, he led them all with 3.7 yards after contact. He was also fifth in the nation last season with 68 missed tackles. Word is that Howard may not play a prominent role early in the season, but I think that role will expand as the year goes on. He would be the likely candidate to be the handcuff for Langford in case of injury, but this running back situation is one to monitor over the next few weeks.

Bears Wide Receivers

I expect a huge season from Alshon Jeffery this season.

Whereas the Bears don’t necessarily have a great option at running back, they have one of the best at the position in Alshon Jeffery. Jeffery has a history of battling injuries, but when on the field, he can be a difference maker. He’s 6’3″, 218 pounds and is a physical receiver who can come down with contested balls. One thing I like about Jeffery is that he has a relatively low floor each week but yet has the upside to have a monster week at anytime. Twice last season he had at least ten catches for over 100 yards and had another week with eight receptions for 147 yards and a touchdown. It’s guys like him that can win you games during the season and is a very nice, lower end WR1 or high end, WR2 that you can get in the mid second round of drafts. He may be injury prone, but he’s also playing on the franchise tag and wants to get paid, so I’m sure he’s going to do everything he can to stay on the field this year if at all possible.

This year we should also get to see the debut of second year wide receiver, Kevin White. White was the first round pick of the Bears last year and the number seven overall pick, but then missed the 2015 season with a stress fracture in his shin. He also battled injuries in college, so health is definitely a concern for him. He’s 6’3″ and 216 pounds and he was often compared in the same breath as Amari Cooper and Davante Parker in the draft class. He could make an immediate difference in the Bears offense if he can stay on the field. He’s reportedly looked good this spring, but coaches are tempering expectations and stating he’s still raw and has a lot to learn, so he is definitely someone to watch in preseason games this summer. He’s currently being drafted in the seventh round of drafts and while I think that may be a little high, he has the upside to perform much better than his ADP. If you like to role the dice like I do, make sure to target White in drafts.

Eddie Royal should handle slot duties for the Bears this season after battling injuries himself last year. The two previous seasons however, he averaged about 55 receptions for 700 yards and 7.5 touchdowns. With Jeffery and White on the field and the defenses focused on them, he could quietly have a very nice season. He doesn’t have huge upside, but he is a nice receiver you can select at the end of drafts for depth that you can use if you have injury or bye week issues.

Bears Tight Ends

Martellus Bennett has now skipped town for Boston and that leaves 32 year old, Zach Miller as the Bears starting tight end. Miller performed very well last season as he had at least five receptions in three of his last four games and had four top ten finishes in the last eight weeks of the season. He could see a slight reduction in targets with Kevin White on the field, but he could still have some decent weeks. I like him as a mid range TE2 and a decent backup if you like to roster two tight ends.

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