You know fantasy football season is near when friends start picking your brain about who to take with their top pick (Michael: Hey, when you know an expert, tug on those strings, right?). My gut says Steelers receiver Antonio Brown is your guy. My head says you can’t go wrong with a running back, whether it’s Brown’s Steelers teammate Le’Veon Bell or Rams stud Todd Gurley. In the end, my heart says there’s going to be a ton of value in taking Mitch Trubisky at some point before the draft’s conclusion.
In case you’re curious, the highest-rated Bears player as of ESPN Fantasy Football’s July 31 rankings for PPR leagues is wide receiver Allen Robinson (33), though Jordan Howard (38) isn’t too far behind.
As for Trubisky, it should go without saying, but you’re not going to find Chicago’s quarterback high on any fantasy rankings. Not right now at least. Not only did Trubisky have a woeful rookie season from a fantasy perspective, he still has much to learn about an offense in which he has yet to play a preseason snap. But still … I think there could be late-round value in a player in a revamped offensive system with pass-catching weapons and a strong running game. Trubisky could be the late-round steal who helps you win a league when something unexpected happens to an early-round star.
Third-string quarterback Tyler Bray is seeing what he describes as “night and day” development out of the Bears’ QB1, writes JJ Stankevitz of NBC Sports Chicago. Bray completed 18 of 34 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown against the Ravens in the Hall of Fame Game, but it’s his knowledge of the offense (and not necessarily his performance in it during the preseason) and how to absorb it that could turn out to be most valuable for the Bears right now. “It gets thrown at you pretty fast,” Bray explained. “At first, your head is kind of spinning. You don’t know what to think. Then after a while, it kind of settles down and it becomes a lot easier.”
It’s easy to see Trubisky’s head spinning during a training camp stretch where he was throwing a bunch of interceptions. But if he is improving as he takes on an increasing workload of practice reps, then it’s likely that he will work through these turnover woes that plagued him in Bourbonnais by the time Week 1 of the regular season rolls around.
For what it’s worth, Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune believes Trubisky’s best practice came on Sunday. If Trubisky can stack quality practices ahead of Thursday’s preseason game against the Bengals, we’ll feel better about what’s coming down the line.
Is there an argument to be made that Matt Nagy was the best quarterback in camp during Monday’s practice? Probably. You can judge for yourself after watching this video.
Trey Burton seemed to be a fan of his coach’s work:
What’s not seen in the linked video is Kyle Fuller’s interception of his head coach. “That’s ridiculous that I let that happen,” Nagy said, via Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune. “That’s unacceptable.” You like to see the guy slinging the pigskin own up to his mistakes. But in this scenario, it’s hard not to love Fuller getting his hands on the ball and hauling in an interception. Fuller had 22 pass breakups in 2018, which was tied for the second most in the NFL in 2018. Turning some of those into interceptions could go a long way toward changing the fortunes of the Bears’ defense.
Thankfully, some video of Fuller’s pick has emerged:
https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/1026645350352805889
I know there are reasons why defensive backs aren’t wide receivers, but it’s time for members of the Bears secondary to get it together::
Of course, Trubisky had thoughts about his coach throwing it around the field. “It was awesome,” Trubisky said, via ESPN Chicago’s Nick Friedell. “We got warmed up this morning and he had to get that arm ready to go. But we’re out here having fun every day. This is the best game in the world and luckily we got to come out here and practice every day and for him to hop in, it shows that we’re just out here having fun and we love to have coach throw a couple dimes on the defense.”
I bet Bears defensive backs are glad they just have to face Anthony Miller in practice and not in game action:
While improving the hands of members of the secondary is one thing the Bears defense needs in 2018, production from the pass-rushers should be viewed as a primary objective. Sixth-round pick Kylie Fitts figures to be a big part of that if he can learn his responsibilities, get on the field as a rookie, and stay healthy. Over at 247Sports, Zack Pearson writes about how the University of Utah product hopes to build on a solid debut in the Pro Hall of Fame Game. With starters Sam Acho and Leonard Floyd sitting it out, last Thursday’s preseason game presented an opportunity for some players to make some waves and come with a strong first impression. Fitts was among last week’s defensive standouts, but will need to show it again as he builds toward the regular season.
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