Chicago

Bears

Herbert was not targeted. It was extremely poor usage with Roschon Johnson healthy scratched and the Bears spending most of the afternoon in comeback mode. D’Andre Swift was the first choice in every game situation, while Velus Jones got the gadget work. Herbert is merely a contingency back, and would be thrust into a committee even were Swift to go down with injury.

Sure, Everett turned that playing time advantage into ... one catch for -1 yards on one target ... but the point is, he was ahead of Kmet with the Bears in comeback mode after they fell behind 17-0 in the second quarter. Strange game script while Caleb Williams struggled mightily in his NFL debut, yes, but it’s clear Everett is indeed a major problem for Kmet’s TE2 prospects. For his part, Everett is not yet on the streamer radar.

Kmet’s second quarter reception was his lone target. It did come inside the 10-yard line, but it’s still a disastrous overall outcome, and not just because of Caleb Williams’ struggles. Initial snap counts and route charting have Kmet behind Gerald Everett in both. There’s an element of fluke since the Bears spent the majority of the afternoon playing from two scores down, but Everett is clearly as big of a problem as feared. Kmet won’t be on the TE2 streamer radar for Week 2 against the Texans despite the potential up-tempo nature of that game.

With the Bears falling behind 17-0 in the second quarter and Caleb Williams struggling to hit the broad side of the barn, there was no such thing as “run-friendly game script” this afternoon despite Chicago somehow emerging triumphant 24-17. With Roschon Johnson healthy scratched, Swift faced zero touch competition. Khalil Herbert barely played and Velus Jones attempted to play a gadget role. With things unlikely to go quite as sideways in Week 2 against the Texans, Swift can remain locked in as a low-end RB2 as we take the measure of this offense.

Odunze’s lone grab was a fluke second quarter reception on a ball batted high into the sky. He was otherwise invisible behind twin alphas DJ Moore and Keenan Allen as Caleb Williams struggled mightily with his poise and ball placement. The good news is that Odunze still gobbled up snaps, and Williams can’t possibly be worse in Week 2 against the Texans. In fact, Williams seemed to start gathering his wits as Sunday’s game wore on. Odunze should remain rostered on the WR3/4 borderline for at least a few more weeks.

Moore also paid an early visit to the blue tent but was never announced with an injury. Moore got out-targeted 11-8 by Keenan Allen but won both the receptions and yardage battles. It was a low-wattage outing for both wideouts as rookie Caleb Williams could not get in sync in his NFL debut. Williams’ physical gifts were immediately apparent, but so were his nerves. Hopefully it’s a better showing for all involved in Week 2 for a matchup with the Texans that could turn into a shootout. Moore will be a back-end WR2 for that one.

Allen’s 11 targets were three more than DJ Moore, though he caught fewer balls and was held to fewer yards. Allen also came up limping after an end-zone misfire, but he was never announced with an injury. Allen’s poor statline had far more to do with his quarterback than his own play. Caleb Williams was skittish and inaccurate in his first NFL start. The hope now is that Williams’ physical gifts take over in Week 2 against the Texans. Allen will remain locked into the WR3 range for that one.

The numbers are actually even worse than that, as Williams took two terrible sacks for a combined 29 yards, giving him 64 yards net passing. Williams looked more than ready for prime time physically, but it was a classic “the game is moving too fast” performance otherwise. Williams seemed almost frantic through his progressions, and just was not timing things up right. He had several batted passes. The good news is, he avoided the truly big mistake, and did improve as the second half wore on. There he just needed to hit a few layups as the Bears’ defense took over, and he executed the mission. Williams is going to get better, and likely in a hurry, but fantasy managers should clearly not be counting on him as a QB1 for Week 2 against the Texans.

Although technically a healthy scratch since he was removed from the injury report on Friday, Johnson had been listed with a toe issue. However serious the “injury” is, Johnson obviously could have suited up were he a serious part of the Bears’ 2024 plans. It appears he is not, leaving Khalil Herbert and Travis Homer and we suppose Velus Jones to back up D’Andre Swift in Swift’s Bears debut.

Allen’s health or lack thereof was one of the stranger Week 1 issues, but we haven’t seen any reports that he will be limited for his Bears debut. We’re just going to have to trust this was some sort of caution routine after Allen missed the end of 2023 with heel issues. Allen is a high-floor WR3. Inactive for the Bears are DT Zacch Pickens, OL Kiran Amegadjie, WR Tyler Scott, LB Noah Sewell, OL Bill Murray, RB Roschon Johnson and DE Dominique Robinson.