Bears TE Cole Kmet secured 6 of 8 targets for 55 receiving yards and 2 TDs vs. the Saints in Week 9. He’s been on fire over the past two weeks, ranking first in PPR points per game (20.7) and fifth in receiving yards (134) among TEs. WR D.J. Moore did not fare as well in Sunday’s contest, recording just 3 catches for 44 yards. The turnaround time for the Bears is quite short as their Week 10 game vs. the Panthers is coming up on Thursday night. It won’t be an easy game for Kmet or Moore as the Carolina defense ranks as the second- and eighth-toughest matchup for opposing WRs and TEs respectively, per our our adjusted fantasy points allowed. That said, we may feel better about their fortunes if QB Justin Fields is able to return from his dislocated right thumb. Be sure to keep up with the injury reports in the coming days.
NFL Network's Mike Garafolo says the Bears are "hopeful" QB Justin Fields (thumb) can start Thursday night's game vs. the Panthers. Fields returned to a limited practice on Friday. He "still has issues" with that hand, Garafolo adds, "so he's gonna have to make some progress in a short period of time to be ready for Carolina." We'll track Fields' progress this coming week. QB Tyson Bagent gets another start vs. the Saints today.
The lone bright spot in Sunday night’s loss vs. the Chargers, Bears TE Cole Kmet hauled all 10 targets for a team-leading 79 receiving yards. This is the third time in five games that the former second-round pick has recorded at least 15 or more PPR points. His teammate WR D.J. Moore also had a fine outing, logging 4 catches on 6 targets for 55 yards in the contest. The Bears’ offense has struggled of late without the presence of QB Justin Fields. Should he return for Week 9 vs. the Saints, we’d be more excited to play them in lineups, but each pass-catcher is still a lower-end starter regardless of who’s under center.
Bears QB Justin Fields (thumb) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Raiders. He didn’t practice all week and, although Fields won’t have surgery, he isn’t a great bet to make it back for Week 8. Undrafted rookie QB Tyson Bagent makes his first career start this weekend. He’s not a viable fantasy play and makes WR D.J. Moore and TE Cole Kmet much riskier starts.
Bears HC Matt Eberflus labeled QB Justin Fields doubtful for Sunday’s game vs. the Raiders with his dislocated thumb. Fields’ status beyond Week 7 is “really going to come down to grip strength,” Eberflus added. We’ll look for a more concrete timeline for Fields’ return. He’s worth hanging on to in most fantasy leagues for the time being. Undrafted rookie QB Tyson Bagent figures to make his first career start this weekend. He had a solid preseason but looked overmatched against the Vikings on Sunday, averaging 5.9 yards per pass attempt with an INT and a lost fumble. Chicago skill-position players will be tough to trust in fantasy lineups with Bagent under center.
Bears TE Cole Kmet managed just 2 receptions for 9 yards on 3 targets in Sunday's loss to the Vikings. Kmet got all of his (minimal) production in the first half, before QB Justin Fields left with a right hand injury. He led the team in targets and catches at the break. For the game, only WR D.J. Moore caught more than two balls as Chicago totaled just 141 passing yards. We'll see about Fields' status for Week 7.
Bears TE Cole Kmet was on the receiving end of the third of QB Justin Fields' four passing scores in Thursday night's win over the Commanders. Kmet easily beat LB Cody Barton on a crossing route for the four-yard TD. He finished the night with five catches on five targets for 42 yards and the score. WR D.J. Moore dominated in this one, but Kmet finished second on the team in targets, catches, and yards. His 17.2% target share was actually his second-lowest mark through the first five games of the season. He's averaging 5.8 targets on a 19.1% share for the year. With that type of volume -- and QB Justin Fields looking more comfortable as a passer -- Kmet should be viewed as a weekly low-end TE1.
Bears TE Cole Kmet was on the receiving end of two of QB Justin Fields' four TD passes in Sunday's loss to the Broncos. More importantly, Kmet tied for the team lead with nine targets and finished behind only WR D.J. Moore with seven catches and 85 receiving yards. QB Justin Fields might never have a bigger passing day than he did in this one. But Kmet is playing a significant role in this passing game. He's now totaled 24 targets on a 19.5% target share through four weeks. If Fields and this passing game are just OK going forward, Kmet has a shot at top-12 production on that type of volume.
Bears WR D.J. Moore racked up 104 yards on 6 receptions in Sunday's loss to the Buccaneers. His 7 targets ranked second on the team and accounted for 24.1% of QB Justin Fields' total pass attempts. Moore also garnered 49.3% of Chicago's receiving yards. The Bears passed or took a sack (six of them) on 68.6% of offensive snaps, leaning that way even in the first half. We'll be curious to see if that split continues. The Bears' early tendency toward trailing opponents would certainly help to drive up passing volume. WR Chase Claypool led the team Sunday with 8 targets, catching three for 36 yards and Fields' lone passing TD. TE Cole Kmet finished with 6 targets, 4 receptions and 38 yards. Chicago heads to Kansas City in Week 3 before hosting the Broncos in Week 4.
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.
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 Bears signed TE Robert Tonyan to a 1-year deal. Tonyan spiked for an 11-TD season in 2020 but tore an ACL midway through the 2021 campaign. He made it back for the start of this past season but was barely fantasy relevant, finishing with 53 catches, 470 yards and 2 TDs. Tonyan ranked 29th among 32 qualifying TEs in Pro Football Focus' receiving grades. Perhaps he bounces back in 2023, another year removed from that knee injury. But Tonyan figures to slot in as Chicago's #2 TE as long as Cole Kmet is healthy. Consider Tonyan no more than a TE3 in early fantasy drafts.
The Bears agreed to a trade sending the number one overall pick in the 2023 draft to the Panthers in exchange for the ninth overall pick in 2023, the 61st pick in 2023, two future picks, and WR D.J. Moore. There's certainly a lot to take in here. GM Ryan Poles managing to swing a high-end WR in Moore to go with QB Justin Fields is a tremendous boost for the team's future. Any doubts surrounding Fields and his cast of receivers are gone, solidifying his status as a top-end dynasty QB. There's got to be bad news for someone here, though. Between this move and the deadline deal that brought WR Chase Claypool over from the Steelers, it's hard to imagine a ton of fantasy upside for WR Darnell Mooney in this offense now. TE Cole Kmet also loses some value now that he seems doomed to be stuck between third or fourth in the pecking order for targets. As far as the Panthers are concerned, this is a significant investment made into finally solving their QB woes. Going up to number one enables the franchise to put an end to exploring retread experiments as they tried with QBs Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield. New HC Frank Reich will have his pick of a young signal-caller to build toward the future with. One of either Alabama QB Bryce Young or Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud feels like a natural fit to plug in right away to a pro-style offense. Unfortunately, without Moore in the mix, this Panthers' offense is devoid of weapons for whoever ends up under center. It's tough to say right now who, if anyone, emerges from this Panthers' offense as a fantasy contributor. Free agency and the NFL Draft in April will help color in those missing pieces of information. Keep up with our coverage here at Draft Sharks as the offseason continues to unfold.
Bears QB Justin Fields ran for 132 yards on 10 carries in Sunday's lopsided loss at Detroit. It was his 3rd game of more than 100 rushing yards this season. Fields stunk as a passer, though, completing just 7 of his 21 attempts for 75 yards, 1 TD and an INT. His lone score went to TE Cole Kmet, 1 of just 4 Bears to catch any passes. Kmet led the team with 27 yards on 2 catches. Fields also took 7 sacks for the game and lost a fumble. He'll get another upside matchup in Week 18 against the Vikings but will be tougher to trust after 2 straight poor outings -- in real and fantasy football terms.
Bears WR Chase Claypool (knee) is listed as doubtful for Week 16 vs. the Bills on Saturday. Teammate Equanimeous St. Brown (concussion) did not practice all week and has been ruled out for the contest. The only Bears pass-catcher worthy of fantasy consideration this week is TE Cole Kmet. That said, the weather conditions in Chicago likely will not be great, and the Bills' defense is the single-worst matchup for opposing TEs in adjusted fantasy points allowed. Keep all of this in mind as you set your lineups.
Bears WR Chase Claypool (knee) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Eagles. We don't have any details on his injury, but Claypool didn't practice all week. With WR Darnell Mooney also out, Chicago is down to WRs Equanimeous St. Brown, Dante Pettis, Byron Pringle, N'Keal Harry and Velus Jones. TE Cole Kmet is the clear favorite to lead the Bears in targets this weekend.
Bears TE Cole Kmet led the team in targets (7) and receptions (6), tallying 72 yards in Sunday's loss to the Packers, the 1st game since WR Darnell Mooney's season-ending injury. WR Chase Claypool caught 5 of 6 targets for 28 yards. WR Equanimeous St. Brown compiled a team-leading 85 receiving yards, thanks primarily to a 56-yard play among his 3 receptions (4 targets).
Bears WR Darnell Mooney "likely" needs season-ending surgery to repair torn ligaments in his ankle, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. If that's the case, Chicago will be without the guy who drew 26.6% of the team's targets over the first 10 games of the season. It'd open up opportunity for WR Chase Claypool and TE Cole Kmet. But this will remain a low-volume passing game, so it's tough to get excited about any of the pass catchers. Even Mooney sat just 45th among WRs in PPR points through Week 11.
Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reports that Bears QB Trevor Siemian took a pain-killing injection for his oblique injury and might still start vs. the Jets today. Both Siemian and QB Nathan Peterman took some 1st-team reps in final warmups. You should obviously be staying far away from this situation in fantasy lineups.
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