NFL offseason wish list: Chicago Bears

Welcome to our fantasy football wish lists, where we’re going through each NFL team and listing three things we’d love to see them do this offseason for fantasy reasons (but also real football reasons).

In his first year as head coach, Matt Nagy did wonders with the Bears, taking them all the way from the bottom to the top of the NFC North. Plenty of that success came on the shoulders of a dominate defense but the offense also took a big step forward. Mitch Trubisky showed flashes but still has a bit to go before he reaches his fullest potential (if that’s ever going to happen). This will likely be another offseason of surrounding Mitch with weapons and trying to put him in the best position to succeed. Here are three moves to help the Bears continue to climb the NFL ranks and help out all us fantasy heads out there.

Trade Jordan Howard

There were moments when Howard looked looked like a strong, competent running back, but for most of the year it was painful to watch him struggle in Nagy’s system. For the first time in his career he failed to rush for over 1,000 yards and finished with a career low 3.7 yards per carry. Howard is on the final year of his rookie contract and trading him would free up a little over $2 million on the cap, which wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world as the Bears currently have the fourth least amount of cap space heading into the offseason (according to Over the Cap). Plus, as a fantasy owner, I don’t want Howard in the way of a fully powered Tarik Cohen. Just imagine what Nagy has in store for Cohen after a full offseason of planning. Ultimately, if the Bears do keep Howard (which is likely) I bet we see a reduced role for him where he serves as a power/goal line back.

Sign Rodger Saffold

To quote the infamous Robin Hood: steal from the rich and give to the poor. The Rams had the best run blocking offensive line this year (per DVOA) and Saffold was an important part of that. The Bears on the other hand ranked 28th in run blocking and could certainly use some help. Saffold won’t be cheap and the Bears’ cap situation isn’t ideal right now, but there are moves they can make to free up a bit of space (option number one: releasing Dion Sims which saves $6 million).

Get Playoff Allen Robinson for the regular season

Robinson’s first year with the Bears was rather disappointing after he was brought in to be the number one guy in Nagy’s offense. He finished the year first on the team in targets (94) but third in receptions (55) with 754 yards and only four touchdowns. It also doesn’t help that he only played 13 games. However, all those regular season struggles were forgotten for a glorious three hour window when the Bears took on the Eagles and Robinson became the dominant receiver Chicago—and fantasy owners—wanted him to be. He finished that game with 10 catches for 143 yards and a touchdown and was getting open at will on the Eagles’ secondary. If Robinson can be that guy for all of 2019 (he’ll now be two years removed from his ACL injury), the Bears offense is going to be a lot more potent.