Fantasy Football Stock Watch: NFC North risers and fallers
By Drew DeLuca
Chicago Bears fantasy football stock watch
The Bears welcome Bill Lazor as offensive coordinator, a steady, veteran presence who’ll exact a positive influence on head coach Matt Nagy’s game planning. Lazor, incidentally, was the quarterbacks coach in Philadelphia when Nick Foles posted a Pro Bowl season in which he tossed 27 touchdowns and only two interceptions.
Even though the Foles acquisition only cost the Bears a fourth-round pick this offseason, incumbent starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky has every reason to look over his shoulder.
Just follow the money: after declining the fifth-year option, the former first-round pick out of North Carolina will be a free agent in 2020 after earning just $4.5 million this season. Meanwhile, Foles will earn $21 million guaranteed over the next two seasons.
The Bears also have a contractual third-year option that would pay the former Super Bowl MVP a below-market salary for a starting NFL quarterback. While Foles is being drafted ahead of Trubisky in best-ball leagues, he still represents insane value as the QB36 overall in that format, and is a sneaky, low-risk addition in 2-QB and Superflex dynasty leagues.
David Montgomery, the solid but unspectacular second-year volume back, is also somewhat of a value, often lasting deep into Round 8, per FootballDieHards.com (as of 7/19/2020). His upside is limited by subpar physical traits and the presence of a dynamic receiving back, Tarik Cohen, who wasn’t properly utilized in 2019.
Should Montgomery falter or fall to injury, dynasty owners will want a flyer on Artavis Pierce (5-11, 208 pounds), who ran a sub-4.5-second 40-yard dash after finishing his college career as one of the top 10 leading rushers in Oregon State history.
If Monty doesn’t take a step up this year, he‘ll take a step back. Cohen is CHI’s dangerous backfield weapon. Also, keep an eye on UDFA Artavis Pierce (Oregon State). Great under-the-radar acquisition by CHI. Good receiver out of the backfield, sneaky good size/speed combo.😴🤫
— Drew DeLuca (@DrewDeLaware) July 12, 2020
At the wide receiver position, the Bears replaced Taylor Gabriel with uninspiring veteran Ted Ginn, Jr. From a fantasy football perspective, the move does little more than ensure another season of heavy target volume for Allen Robinson, one of the better values available in the third or fourth rounds of redraft and best-ball leagues.
Anthony Miller’s path to playing time remains unthreatened, and Ginn is a rather surmountable hurdle for Riley Ridley, should the latter take a leap forward in his second year and hold off fellow Georgia Bulldog Javon Wims.
Tight end is a mess, to be frank. At one point this offseason, the Bears had 10 (not a typo) tight ends on their roster, including veteran Jimmy Graham. Notre Dame’s Cole Kmet, graded by some as a first-round talent, is a nice under-the-radar dynasty league addition and should find a path to playing time as soon as this season.
Bears tight ends are persona non grata on fantasy football rosters right now, but Foles displayed a tendency to rely on tight ends early and often in past experiences with Lazor. Eagles tight ends caught nine touchdowns in the ten games Foles started during his 2013 Pro Bowl campaign, compared to zero in the six games started by Mike Vick.