The Chicago Bears have a new front office and new coaching staff. What direction will they go? Who are the Buy/Sell/Keep options from this unpredictable offense of 2022?
Buy
David Montgomery, RB
The Chicago Bears drafted Montgomery to be their bell-cow running back in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft. He was the third overall rushing leader for Iowa State based on average rushing yards per year before the 2019 NFL draft. Montgomery is now fourth on that list with Breece Hall’s 2021 performance.
Montgomery has delivered in the bell cow area with 15 carries a game in 2019, 16 carries a game in 2020, and 17 carries a game in 2021. In addition to those carries, he averaged 1.5 receptions a game as a rookie, 3.6 receptions a game in 2020, and 3.2 receptions per game this last year. Montgomery knows how to score touchdowns also. He has scored 24 TDs in his 44 games.
Montgomery was the 18th overall RB in my league last year which uses PPR, while missing four games. He was RB5 in 2020. In a league of starving RB depth, you can do much worse. With competition set for 2022 from Khalil Herbert and the assumed return of Tarik Cohen, I believe this will only help Montgomery be a low-end RB1 or high-end RB2 for 2022. His price is not out of this world, so acquire him now!
Sell
Cole Kmet, TE
Cole Kmet was a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame. He has great size at 6’6″ and 258 lbs. Kmet runs a 4.7 40-yard dash which was fourth among 2020 College TEs at the Combine. Do you know who else had the size of 6′ 6″ and 260 lbs with a 4.7 40 yard dash? That would be the one and only Rob Gronkowski. I have heard several analysts call Kmet the Baby Gronk.
How did Kmet and Gronkowski compare in their first two years in the league? Gronk was substantially better! In their rookie years, Gronk had 42 receptions for 546 yards and 10 TDs while Kmet had 28 receptions for 243 yards and 2 TDs. For their second years in the NFL, Gronk posted 90 receptions for 1,327 yards and 17 TDs while Kmet had 60 receptions for 612 yards and zero TDs.
What proof has Kmet given us?
In 2021, Kmet had eight games where he had four receptions or more. He has yet to have a 100-yard game in the first 33 games of his career. In fact, Kmet has only broken 50 yards three times over his 33-game career. He was just the 20th ranked TE in my league last year which is TE premium. Kmet has not missed a game yet due to injury.
I’ve seen Kmet ranked as high as 10th overall for TEs in TE premium leagues. I just don’t see what they are seeing. He needs to be sold now, while his name is hot! You can get a king’s ransom for him right now, especially if you are in a TE premium league and somebody in your league views him as baby Gronk.
Keep
Darnell Mooney, WR
At 5′ 11″ and 172 lbs soaking wet, this fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, has made his claim to the top WR for the Chicago Bears. With a blazing 4.38 40-yard dash, he can run by you or stop on a dime and leave you with a very sore ankle.
Mooney was not expected to have the impact he had with the Bears as a rookie out of Tulane. Week 1 starter Anthony Miller and backup Ted Ginn Jr were not delivering results. With the Ginn injury that had him out 10 games, Mooney had the opportunity to show his talent and did not disappoint. He had 61 receptions for 631 yards and 4 TDs. Mooney played in all 16 games and had a minimum of two receptions in every game.
Time for Mooney to claim the Bears’ WR1 title.
It seems that 2021 was the year for Mooney to cement himself as the WR1 in Chicago. Allen Robinson came into the season as the WR1 for the Bears, but that was quickly changed as he had just 30 receptions for only 339 yards and 1 TD in his first nine games of the season. In the same games, Mooney had 36 receptions for 450 yards and 2 TDs. The connection with rookie QB Justin Fields was evident from the start.
Robinson only played in three of the Bears’ final eight games. Mooney became the heir apparent in those games with 45 receptions for 605 yards and 2 more TDs. He is very consistent in his production having only one game with less than five receptions in his final eight games. Mooney’s arrow is pointing up, and if you are lucky enough to have him on your 2022 roster… do not let him get away. Keep him now and forever.
Thank you for checking out the latest article in the Buy/Sell/Keep series! You can read all of my articles on my IDP Guys author page. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @OldMan_FF and @IDPGuys (we have offense too) and please check out our website at idpguys.org.
