Bears' Fantasy Football Draft Targets: Caleb Williams will Dictate Things | Which Pass Catchers will be Weekly Assets?

Let's knock off another fantasy football outlook, this time going over an intriguing Chicago Bears offense.

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Caleb Williams Fantasy Outlook

A lot of the intrigue around the Bears' offense is the addition of head coach Ben Johnson, but things will come down to whether or not Williams takes a step forward.

He's QB14 and going near pick 111 on average. Williams had an underwhelming rookie season.

In 17 games, Williams threw for 3,541 yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions. Despite the TD to INT ratio, he only completed 62.5% of his passes. Williams added 489 yards and no scores on the ground.

Most are expecting a step forward for Williams this season, and there's no excuse for him not to. He's a fine fantasy QB2, but he shouldn't be viewed as a weekly starter outside deeper leagues.

He could become a weekly starter by proving it this season, but to open the season, he's a better streaming option in standard leagues. We'll see if Williams can improve, or if he struggles again and gets closer to being labeled a bust.

Running Back Fantasy Outlook

D'Andre Swift is still the starting running back for Chicago, with Roschon Johnson as the top backup. Kyle Monangai could factor in more early, as Johnson is banged up.

Swift is RB21 and is going near pick 50 on average. With Johnson hobbled, I like Swift near that ADP. 

Swift played in all 17 games last season, racking up 1,345 total yards and six scores across 295 touches. The addition of Ben Johnson has fantasy owners expecting more out of Swift and several other offensive weapons.

I feel there's some great draft value with Swift near his ADP. He could pretty easily be a top-20 back if Roschon Johnson isn't ready to go, and even if Monangai fills Johnson's role from a season ago. 

So I'm fine taking a swing on Swift near his ADP. There's not many possible No. 1 running backs available after him, and given his situation this year, I see Swift as a possible draft steal.

Monangai is RB62, while Johnson is RB63. They are going at pick 203 and 212, respectively.

Johnson had 254 total yards on 71 touches last season, but scored six times to be a pretty solid fantasy asset. He only averaged 2.7 yards per rushing attempt though, so that's concerning for sure.

With Johnson banged up, he's just a deep-league fantasy asset. He could work back into standard leagues as a streaming option, like he did a season ago, so keep him on your watch list. For now, he should be avoided in standard leagues.

Monangai was a seventh-round pick, so it seems unlikely that he's star as a rookie. However, I'm not writing that off because of Ben Johnson's pedigree as an offensive guru. Multiple backs starred in Detroit the past few seasons under Johnson, and it could happen again in Chicago.

If Monangai ends up as RB2 for the Bears with Johnson banged up, the rookie could become that standard league waiver wire add or streaming option over the veteran. This will be a fun backfield to watch this season.

Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlook

Rome Odunze, D.J. Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus are the projected starting wideouts for the Bears. Rookie Luther Burden III is expected to overtake Zaccheaus at some point, and Devin Duvernay and Jahdae Walker are other depth options.

Moore is the top-drafted Chicago receiver, going around pick 48 as WR20. I'm not in love with that draft spot for him.

Moore played in 17 games last season, which marked the fourth straight year he played in every regular season game. He regressed to 1,041 total yards and six touchdowns though, after he went for 1,385 yards and nine scores in 2023.

Having a rookie quarterback was part of the issue, but there's also talented pass catchers on the team, and no real No. 1 wideout anymore. Moore is fighting for targets and production with a couple others, and could be replaced as the top option by Burden or Odunze as early as this season.

For those concerns, I'm not a fan of taking Moore near his ADP. I think he's a better fantasy WR3, which puts him closer to pick 67, so nearly 20 picks later. Unless he drops that far, if not more, I'm out on Moore.

Odunze is WR36 and going near pick 80 on average. 

He played in 17 games as a rookie in 2024, racking up 749 total yards and three scores. Odunze had 54 receptions across 101 targets. 

It was a bit of an underwhelming rookie year for the ninth overall pick from the 2024 draft. Moore is still around, and the addition of Burden and other pass catchers will likely hold Odunze back from a big breakout season.

Getting close to 1,000 yards, like Moore was at last season, seems doable for Odunze. He might just be inconsistent in his path there.

I'm more inclined to take Odunze over Moore because of their draft spots. Odunze as a lower-end fantasy WR3 has more draft appeal than Moore as a fantasy WR2. I wouldn't mind drafting Odunze if I was feeling really good about my receiver corps to that point.

Burden is WR58 and going near pick 159. That means he's on the outside looking in for most standard league drafts.

He was a second-round pick this offseason. The fact that he already isn't a clear starter over Zaccheaus is a bit concerning, but I think that high draft pick status will show up as time moves on.

He's a solid pickup for deeper fantasy leagues, and could become a weekly starting option in time. Burden could become a waiver wire pickup and streaming option in standard leagues, but I think consistency could be an issue with all the pass catchers the team has available.

Unless there's an injury to Moore or Odunze, and maybe a tight end too, Burden might struggle to be a good weekly option in standard leagues. His future is bright, but I don't love him as a rookie.

Zaccheaus is WR110 and going near pick 348 on average.

He went for 506 yards and three scores on 45 grabs and 64 targets over 17 games with the Commanders last season. I was surprised they didn't bring him back, and surprised he chose the Bears to go to since there's way more pass catchers there.

Anyways, I see Zaccheaus falling into the No. 4 wideout role over time, after Moore, Odunze and Burden. He might be worth some deep-league starts early in the season, but he's more a depth option in those leagues. Injuries could be his only path to standard league relevance in 2025.

Tight End Fantasy Outlook

Colston Loveland is the team's new starting tight end after being a first-round pick this offseason. Cole Kmet is a more-than-capable backup option now.

Loveland is TE11 and going near pick 108 on average. Kmet is TE31 and going near pick 267. 

Loveland was the No. 10 overall pick in this offseason's draft. The Bears have high hopes for him, but this landing spot wasn't the best for his immediate fantasy outlook.

There's plenty of pass catchers on this team, and I'm not so sure Kmet won't be pretty involved still. Because he's a tight end though, I could definitely see Loveland carving out a more consistent role, especially considering some of Williams' struggles as a rookie.

I like Loveland best as a fantasy TE2, but could get by with him as the top option in standard leagues. I'd make sure to take another fantasy TE too, just in case Loveland struggles to get rolling as a rookie.

He's a lower-risk pick near his ADP, and could emerge as one of the better fantasy options by the end of the season, so I think the gamble is worth it.

Kmet regressed to just 474 yards and four scores over 17 games last season. He had been over 500 yards in the previous three seasons, and scored 13 total times the past two years. It seems that every pass catcher regressed for Chicago in Williams' first season.

Anyways, with the addition of Burden, and especially Loveland, Kmet's 2024 stats might be his fantasy ceiling this year. It'd take an injury to get him into a more favorable fantasy situation.

I'm out on Kmet as a standard league asset, and don't see that returning for as long as he's in Chicago. He's a solid deep-league add, but is just a depth guy, and that might stick too.