The fantasy football landscape shifts each week, bringing fresh opportunities and unexpected challenges that separate the prepared from the pretenders. Savvy managers know that last week’s performance tells only part of the story, and diving deeper into the underlying metrics reveals the accurate picture.
This week presents some intriguing decisions. Here’s insight about key Chicago Bears players heading into their matchup with the Dallas Cowboys to help you craft a winning lineup.
Caleb Williams, QB
As a rookie, four of Caleb Williams’ five best fantasy performances came at home, and he could add to that total on Sunday after the Cowboys allowed Russell Wilson to have a career day.
Williams has a 30-yard or more completion and a 10-yard or more run in both divisional games this season, showcasing the versatility that gives him the potential to be a QB1 in any given week.
The Dallas defense doesn’t scare me, and their offensive structure almost mirrors the 2024 Bengals. The Cowboys were involved in the game of the week last weekend, and there’s a non-zero chance it happens twice in a row.
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I’m a little worried that Williams hasn’t cleared 210 passing yards in six of his past seven games, but I’m hanging my hat on his versatility and have him as my QB11 for this week.
Colston Loveland, TE
Neither tight end in the Windy City has been busy enough to justify starting, and if it weren’t for the draft pedigree, I’m not sure Colston Loveland would be on any roster in a standard setting.
With Rome Odunze amidst a breakout, DJ Moore still earning volume, and an offense that has some growing pains to work through, there’s simply not enough production for the talented rookie to soak up.
Loveland has earned three targets through two games and can be dropped in all redraft formats given his position. If he were a rookie receiver struggling out of the gates (i.e., Matthew Golden in Green Bay), I’d have more patience. But at a one-off position, there’s no time to operate with caution.
We can revisit his value if he proves himself worthy of such a discussion, but we are currently a long way away from that.
D’Andre Swift, RB
Without a bailout three-yard score in the fourth quarter to cut Detroit’s lead to 24, D’Andre Swift managers would be complaining about consecutive finishes outside of the top 30 at the position.
To be honest, I’m not too worried about the value of Chicago’s lead back. He’s got a firm hold of this backfield, and he’s caught three passes in both losses: regardless of what you think of Swift’s talent, 15 carries and 3-5 targets are enough to land you in the flex conversation at the very least.
The Cowboys’ defense was vulnerable deep downfield last week against the Giants, and if they overcorrect in that regard, I think Swift is a solid bet for his standard work. Thus, a top 25 finish at the position with some upside should this offense bounce back after a rough Week 2 and keep this game tight.
DJ Moore, WR
The Bears are dividing up slot duties, which is taking usage away from DJ Moore and distributing it to nearly everyone else.
We saw Ben Johnson call three handoffs to his presumed WR1 in Week 1, but that dried up last week against the Lions (five catches for 46 yards).
Caleb Williams has yet to show much development when not throwing to Rome Odunze, and that’s concerning for a player like Moore, who makes his bones in the volume metrics, with touchdowns serving as icing on the cake.
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At this pace, he’s going to have to run hot in the scoring department to satisfy fantasy managers, and we don’t have signs of that coming.
Now, the Cowboys are coming off a disastrous defensive showing, and the Bears are expected to improve a little bit every week. It wouldn’t shock me if Moore put up 15 PPR points in this matchup, but with Odunze establishing himself as the top man in Chicago, I need to see proof of concept before I plug him in.
Moore is my WR32 this week, ranking behind players like Jakobi Meyers and Jauan Jennings, receivers that I trust to offer the type of floor that I assumed Moore would give us.
