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 Las Vegas Raiders to help you craft a winning lineup.
Caleb Williams, QB
We are probably still a few weeks away from labeling Caleb Williams as a weekly lineup lock, but Week 3’s QB1 has certainly looked comfortable for most of 2025.
Last week, against an admittedly awful Cowboys defense, Williams escaped without a single sack. He became the third Bears QB in a decade to record four touchdown passes without a pick (the others: Justin Fields and, of course, Mitch Trubisky).
He’s currently pacing for over 4,000 passing yards and 500 rushing yards, thresholds that only five QBs have hit during the 2000s (Josh Allen (3x), Russell Wilson (2x), Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson, and Cam Newton).
There’s no excuse for not jumping on the Williams bandwagon this week after the Raiders just allowed the Commanders to hang 41 points on the board.
D’Andre Swift, RB
This season could be a wild ride for the Bears, and I think D’Andre Swift fans are okay with that.
He’s averaging 17 touches per game and is critical to how this offense functions, be it via the dump-off pass or the traditional ground game.
Roschon Johnson isn’t getting on the field, and Kyle Monangai, despite a great first name, is picking up just 3.4 yards per carry in his fall-forward role. Swift has a role that allows him to have access to elite versatility, and that’s how the fantasy bills are paid:
12+ carries and 3+ catches in all 3 Weeks
- Christian McCaffrey
- Bijan Robinson
- Breece Hall
- D’Andre Swift
I’m going to have him ranked as an RB2 most weeks, and I think there’s upside this week in a game where the Bears are favored.
DJ Moore, WR
DJ Moore was supposed to be the target, earning safety net in Chicago while the young options developed.
That may have been the plan, but is Rome Odunze already ready to be a star?
It certainly looks that way, and if Colston Loveland can grow with time, Moore’s opportunity count could shrink further (7.1% third-down target share this season).
There is one note that should help comfort you in the short term. In Week 1, before the Bears were aware of just how productive Odunze could be, Moore posted a 17.8 aDOT. In the two weeks since, his mark sits at 6.8, and that’s something you should be happy with.
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Odunze is clearly the better athlete at this point, and the shortening of Moore’s routes means that Ben Johnson still wants him involved.
That could change if the TE room earns more of those looks, but I think, moving forward, something like 4-6 catches for 50-70 yards is a reasonable expectation. Moore is a PPR flex who might be able to be acquired on the cheap with just 135 receiving yards through three weeks.
Luther Burden III, WR
Luther Burden III had two yards in three targets through two career games, but a meeting with the Cowboys has a way of unlocking things, especially when you have a playcaller like Ben Johnson looking to expose it.
The rookie paid off a goofy flea flicker that looked like D’Andre Swift was pitching a beach ball back to Caleb Williams. The optics really don’t matter: it was a 13.5-point play for Burden on your bench.
It was good to see a gadgety receiver make good on a gadget play, but let’s not do anything that we’ll regret.
Week 3 snap/route counts:
DJ Moore: 51 / 26
Rome Odunze: 51 / 26
Olamide Zaccheaus: 32 / 17
Burden: 17 / 9
Burden remains a pretty clear WR4 in an offense that also features two tight ends and still shows some inconsistencies under center. The big play was great to see, and maybe this is the start of something, but I’m not betting on it.
Burden doesn’t yet need to be rostered in average-sized leagues.
Rome Odunze, WR
Rome Odunze earned 101 targets as a rookie and averaged 13.6 yards per catch in a complementary role, but with Caleb Williams developing and Ben Johnson calling plays, the former ninth overall pick is flashing his pedigree on a routine basis.
The 35-yard score last week came on a shifty move that had the defender on skates, and it was timed perfectly by Williams. Art in motion.
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Since 2016, only four players have scored a touchdown in each of the first three weeks of their second season: DK Metcalf, Chris Godwin, DJ Chark, and Odunze. That’s a solid list to join, and I see no reason to think it slows against a Raiders team that just allowed Marcus Mariota’s Commanders to average 7.4 yards per play.
Odunze is the Bears’ top receiver, the third-best in the NFC North, and a top 20 guy across the league the rest of the way (flirting with my top 15 in this specific matchup).
Cole Kmet, TE
No law says the tight end position needs to be used, and the Bears are reinforcing that, an odd strategy given the draft capital they spent this April.
Cole Kmet has played north of 89% of their offensive snaps in all three weeks this season (Colston Loveland has yet to reach 60%), and while he scored last week, 70 yards on 85 routes isn’t going to cut it.
The veteran was a spotty contributor at best a season ago. While the rookie isn’t putting much pressure on his role right now, that threat still looms, not to mention two standout receivers — one with potential — and a versatile running back, all of whom are earning looks from Caleb Williams.
I don’t mind betting on the Bears to improve as the season wears on, but I’m not the least bit interested in doing it at the tight end position.
Colston Loveland, TE
The idea of Colston Loveland seems to be crystallizing.
- Week 1: 58.3% of his snaps were routes
- Week 2: 60% of his snaps were routes
- Week 3: 83.3% of his snaps were routes
That chart looks better than it is. I like the idea of that chart moving forward, but the rookie was on the field for just six snaps during Sunday’s convincing win over the Cowboys.
The route-oriented job description is exactly what we want, and I think it’ll hold value in deeper TE premium leagues this season, as it’ll be rare that Chicago controls games the way they did in Week 3.
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That said, Loveland, even after a 31-yard grab early, was slotted well behind Cole Kmet in the hierarchy of this tight end room. It’s hard enough for a Chig Okonkwo type to emerge, a singular TE with a young QB responsible for getting him looks, so when we are talking about the back-end of a TE committee, I lose faith.
Loveland versus Tyler Warren was a popular discussion point in August, and Warren may double up Loveland in rookie production. The Bears got that wrong, and you may have too, but I’m leaving the light on.
I’m not holding him, but I’m not giving up. Let’s see how the snap distribution looks in November when Chicago’s fate for the season is pretty clear and growth becomes a priority over current production.
