Chicago Bears DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams remains without a contract. Yet, the rookie is apparently not concerned about it, considering he reported he hasn't been involved in negotiations. "I'm not handling that," said Williams when asked about a potential deal. "My lawyers and attorney and everybody, the head of the Bears, everybody up there up top is handling that. That's not my position that I'm handling." There are several issues holding things up. However, Williams doesn't have an NFLPA-certified agent, so it's unknown who is orchestrating things behind the scenes on his behalf. The 2024 No. 1 overall pick has plenty of pressure on him heading into his inaugural year, especially since he is replacing Justin Fields, a move that didn't sit well with some. With that said, Williams is expected to have more than a few impressive rookie showings, although fantasy managers should expect growing pains.

Washington Commanders wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus signed with the organization this offseason on a one-year, $1.28 million contract. His salary would suggest he's not guaranteed to make the roster, but Ben Standig of the Athletic believes he is close to being a lock. "The first three (wide receivers) are locks, and Zaccheaus probably adds that distinction over time," Standig wrote. Zaccheaus has collected 104 of his 171 targets for 1,492 yards and 10 touchdowns through his first 72 career games with the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles. It'd be a surprise if he's a fantasy football contributor in 2024, but it sounds like he could occupy the WR4 role behind Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, and Luke McCaffrey under new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.

Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore's current contract runs through the 2025 season, so nothing is urgent at this time, but he's currently 17th among wideouts in terms of average salary and is coming off a career year in his first year in Chicago in which he caught 96 passes on 136 targets for a career-high 1,364 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in 17 starts. Moore has become one of the faces of the franchise, and general manager Ryan Poles might want to reward him with a new deal sooner than later. Fellow receiver Keenan Allen will be a free agent after the 2024 season and is likely to enter the year on an expiring contract, as the Bears want to see what he has left at 32 before considering keeping him around beyond one year. Moore certainly has more competition for targets with Allen around now, but he's a pretty safe WR2 target this fall.

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus called new running back D'Andre Swift "a weapon back" when asked why the team moved so quickly to sign him in free agency back in March to a three-year, $24 million deal. "You know we really needed that guy that can really operate on third down and even on first or second down and be a weapon in the deep part of the field and the short part of the field and take it the distance. And he's got a lot of gas," Eberflus said. Swift posted his first 1,000-yard season with the Eagles in 2023 and had career-bests in yards, carries (229), first downs (50) and yards per game (65.6). The Bears' offense now has a lot of dangerous weapons around rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, but in fantasy, it may be hard for Swift to match his 2023 exploits with Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson also demanding backfield touches.

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams reportedly had plenty of expected rookie struggles at last week's OTAs, but Zach Pearson of Bear Report said he had one of his best showings during Friday's seven-on-seven period. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of USC completed 13 of his 14 passing attempts and threw a touchdown to DJ Moore. Needless to say, it's not a good idea to overvalue reports from practices with no live rushers on defense, but any sign of growth is encouraging. While rookie quarterbacks usually struggle in real life and fantasy football, Williams arguably has the best supporting cast any No. 1 overall pick has ever had. With pass-catchers like Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, D'Andre Swift, Cole Kmet, and Gerald Everett surrounding him, he could post low-end QB1 numbers in Year 1.