The Bears are a difficult read for fantasy football owners, especially second-year receiver Rome Odunze.
This is normally the case for first-year coaches, but it especially applies here because Ben Johnson has been a play caller for just three years with the same team. There is only what he did there to fall back on and the other wild card entering into this is the offensive skill set of players isn't quite similar to what he had in Detroit.
Still, there was a clue during Johnson's press conference at Halas Hall on Tuesday to how they would use Odunze and that, in turn, might help fantasy owners figure out his role.
There also has been a clue in the last three practices about all of this.
Odunze earned high praise from Johnson.
“To me, he fits that prototypical X receiver where you can line him up outside the numbers, and provided he gets a one-on-one with a corner, he's going to win most of his matchups–slant routes, stop routes, go routes, the whole route tree outside the numbers," Johnson said. "That's what I've seen from him so far.
"He's a really detailed route runner. I think he had a route yesterday in one-on-ones that was really impressive. He's looking one way, breaks the other way and really snaps it off for a sharp cut. When you have a long guy that can win contested catches and torque down the field and all that, yet still can drop his weight and get into and outer routes like he can, that's really a unique skillset that we're going to look to capitalize on.”
If so, it will be unusual for Johnson. He didn't use the X-receiver as his main position to attack with in Detroit.
The X-receiver is just as Johnson described Odunze, but when the Bears coach was in Detroit they brought in DJ Chark, Denzel Mims, Tyrell Williams and Antoine Green as X-receivers and none really had big roles in the offense.
Johnson's offense was run through the slot receiver, Amon-Ra St. Brown. He had 451 targets in three years. The top two tight ends combined for 300 targets.
Perhaps Johnson would use Odunze the way they used Jameson Williams, but he doesn't possess Williams' speed.
Odunze is the X-type who goes up for the ball, a contested-catch demon playing in an attack with a coach known for scheming receivers wide open and not into contested-catch situations.
Odunze had 101 targets last year in the Bears attack as third receiver after Moore and slot Keenan Allen. Johnson never had a Detroit wide receiver beyond St. Brown who ever hit 100 targets.
With a target like rookie Colston Loveland added, and with Cole Kmet still aboard, and with the backs likely to get some targets on dumpoffs, it seems unlikely Odunze will receive a ton more targets than the 101 he had last year, and could actually get less.
Meanwhile, Moore had the ball on handoffs in Monday's practice, caught screens on Tuesday and chased down a bomb. He also caught a pass on a sideline route.
The Bears will run the offense through Moore in all parts of the field just as Johnson did with St. Brown in Detroit. And they should considering his status as their second highest-paid player and as an experienced all-around target.
Instead, Odunze can really make fantasy points near the goal line and with the targets he does get but Johnson's history says barring injuries to a key target there just won't be enough emphasis placed on X-receiver for hug Odunze numbers.
His history also says the Bears will become a leader in yards after the catch. The Lions ranked high at this every year he was coordinator. The best yards after the catch receiver in Chicago has been Moore.
It will take a complete shift in the way Johnson attacks defenses for Odunze to become a target on a level with Moore in only his second season.
A tiger doesn't change his stripes just because he's a Bear now, and fantasy owners need to remember this.
Lions top targets under Ben Johnson
2024
Amon-Ra St. Brown 141
Jameson Williams 91
Sam LaPorta 83
Tim Patrick 44
Jahmyr Gibbs 63
David Montgomery 38
Kaliff Raymond 22
2023
St. Brown 164
Williams 42
Raymond 44
LaPorta 120
Josh Reynolds 64
Gibbs 71
Montgomery 24
2022
St. Brown 146
DJ Chark 52
D'Andre Swift 70
T.J. Hockenson 43
Raymond 64
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