NBA Prop of the Day
Jake Silverman
It’s time to look ahead to the 2023 NFL season! Follow along with all our fantasy football team offseason roundups here.
It’s been a very busy NFL offseason, with free agent signings, coaching changes and several new players entering the league via the NFL Draft. As we prepare for the 2023 fantasy football season, it’s critical to have a full understanding of each team’s offseason moves. Our NFL team roundup series today covers the Chicago Bears.
2023 NFL Team Roundup: Chicago Bears
2022 Results
Record: 3-14; 4th in the NFC North
Season End: Missed the playoffs; earned first overall pick in the NFL Draft
Chicago Bears Offseason Summary
Draft
1.10: Darnell Wright, OT, Tennessee
2.53: Gervon Dexter, DT, Florida
2.56: Tyrique Stevenson, CB, Miami
3.64: Zacch Pickens, DT, South Carolina
4.115: Roschon Johnson, RB, Texas
4.133: Tyler Scott, WR, Cincinnati
5.148: Noah Sewell, LB, Oregon
7.218: Travis Bell, DT, Kennesaw State
7.258: Kendall Williamson, S, Stanford
Darnell Wright, OT (1.10)
The Bears entered the 2022 season with maybe the game’s worst projected offensive line, and while it performed better than expected (Teven Jenkins shook off his bust label nicely and Day 3 rookie Braxton Jones was a find), this unit still needed help. Darnell Wright, the second lineman off the board in April, should be a big deal for a line that will be asked to do a lot in 2023.
Gervon Dexter, DT (2.53)
The run game in Chicago was a problem in 2022, which explains (a) why they splurged on linebackers this offseason (see below) and (b) what Gervon Dexter’s role is going to be as a rookie. He’s a run-stopping specialist who doesn’t offer much as a pass-rusher yet, but he should be a boon to this run defense immediately.
Roschon Johnson, RB (4.115)
In a vacuum, a running back who couldn’t even start for his college team might not be that exciting, but Roschon Johnson was stuck in the same backfield as one of the best running back prospects in a generation in Texas alongside Bijan Robinson. Johnson is no guarantee to have a big role right away (or ever), but he’s got more upside than we’re used to seeing out of a Day 3 rookie running back.
Additions
Free agent signings: LB Tremaine Edmunds, G Nate Davis, EDGE DeMarcus Walker, LB T.J. Edwards, QB P.J. Walker, RB Travis Homer, DT Andrew Billings, TE Robert Tonyan, EDGE Rasheem Green, RB D’Onta Foreman, LB Dylan Cole
Trades: WR DJ Moore
DJ Moore, WR
DJ Moore is the latest in a long line of ridiculously talented wide receivers to have been held back by a string of subpar quarterbacks, with every Panthers passer in his five years combining for an 80.44 passer rating, no one over 92.1. That problem might not be resolved in Chicago, though, as Moore is now paired with an electric athlete in Justin Fields, but one for whom passing has not been the key to his game so far. Still, Fields might be the best quarterback Moore has played with, and Moore is definitely the best receiver Fields has had, so the Bears hope one unlocks the other.
D’Onta Foreman, RB
Arguably the biggest post-Achilles tear success story ever at running back, D’Onta Foreman had been largely left for dead before resurfacing as a backup to Derrick Henry in Tennessee in 2020. He filled in when Henry went down in 2021 to great effect, which landed him a deal in Carolina, where he did the same for the Panthers after Christian McCaffrey was traded. Foreman signed a one-year deal in Chicago this offseason, where he’ll compete with incumbent Khalil Herbert and rookie fourth-rounder Roschon Johnson for the lead role.
Tremaine Edmunds/T.J. Edwards, LB
The Bears spent big this offseason, primarily at linebacker, bringing in PFF’s Nos. 5 and 6 LBs from last season. The roster overall still needs improvement, but this is suddenly a top-five linebacker room.
Departures
RB David Montgomery, T Riley Reiff, QB Trevor Siemian, DT Armon Watts, FB Trevon Wesco, WR Byron Pringle, WR N’Keal Harry, LB Matthew Adams, EDGE Angelo Blackson, LB Nicholas Morrow, TE Ryan Griffin, CB Dane Cruikshank, CB Breon Borders, C Sam Mustipher
David Montgomery, RB
David Montgomery averaged just over 1,200 scrimmage yards a year in Chicago, with his career year coming in 2020 with 1,070 rushing yards, 438 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns (all career-highs). He’s still below 4.0 yards per carry for his career and is now 26, so the Bears let him leave in free agency, where he signed with Detroit.
Byron Pringle, WR
Byron Pringle has never broken out in the NFL, but 2021 was his best year, with 568 yards and 5 touchdowns for the Chiefs. He signed with Chicago last offseason as their highest-profile receiver addition, but things didn’t work out at all with the Bears. Pringle missed six games and only had 16 targets in the 11 games he did play. He’s still a free agent.
Riley Reiff, T
At the bouncing-around portion of his career, Riley Reiff left the Bears for the Patriots this offseason, his fourth team in four years. The soon-to-be 35-year-old started 10 games for the Bears, but the team’s additions this offseason made him expendable.
Chicago Bears Fantasy Outlook
The three most interesting Bears fantasy options:
Justin Fields, QB
Justin Fields was a popular fantasy breakout candidate a year ago, and while that did happen (he finished as QB6), it was a rocky road to get there. Through Week 4, Fields was QB31, behind guys who had been benched and three quarterbacks who hadn’t even played every game. But Fields exploded from then on, rushing for the second-most yards (1,143) in QB history despite missing two games. It would be nice to see him develop more as a passer (he only managed an 85.2 passer rating), but the Bears have added to his weaponry, and even if he doesn’t, his legs will keep him as a fantasy force.
Khalil Herbert, RB
Really, this spot goes to “whichever running back gets the starting job,” but we addressed Roschon Johnson and D’Onta Foreman above, so here’s Khalil Herbert. Herbert was a capable backup to David Montgomery the last two years, averaging an RB11 weekly finish in his four games with at least 35 snaps. There’s a chance he’s stuck in a committee alongside a running quarterback, but if he claims the gig to himself, there’s huge upside.
Darnell Mooney, WR
DJ Moore is the top Bears receiver, but he’s also not that interesting, because we more or less know what he is. Darnell Mooney is much more intriguing. After a big breakout in 2021 where he had 140 targets and 1,055 yards, Mooney cratered last year, finishing as the WR72, missing five games and only having one finish better than WR24 all year. But if Fields takes a step forward, and if Moore can command defensive attention, Mooney could be a post-hype sleeper in 2023.
2023 Outlook
DraftKings Sportsbook Wins Over/Under: 7.5 (-130)
NFC North odds: +425
A year after the Bears earned the first overall pick in the NFL Draft, the expectation is they’ll be better in 2023. The team isn’t necessarily set up yet to contend for a division title or even a wild card, but they have better division odds than the Packers (+475), and if things break right in Chicago, given their offseason additions and maybe growth from Justin Fields, they could break .500 and find themselves at least on the “in the hunt” playoff graphic late in the season.
