The Bears are building a solid receiving corps. Now, they just have to figure out the quarterback.
Late Thursday night, Chicago traded a fourth-round pick to the Chargers for Keenan Allen. And now Allen and D.J. Moore will help either Justin Fields or, more likely, rookie Caleb Williams if the Bears select him with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
We'll address the quarterback situation once Chicago makes a decision. But in terms of Allen and Moore, this will be a potential downgrade for their Fantasy value. Moore is a No. 2 Fantasy receiver worth drafting as early as Round 4. And Allen is also a No. 2 Fantasy receiver, and the earliest he should be selected is Round 5.
While the Bears will likely pass more in 2024 than they did in 2023 if Williams is the quarterback under new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron -- Chicago was No. 28 in pass attempts last season at 513 -- it's hard to expect a hefty amount of volume for Allen and Moore. And that's the biggest problem for both.
Allen was No. 10 in targets last season among receivers with 150, but he did that in 13 games. For a 17-game pace, he was at 196 targets, which would have been No. 1 in the NFL. He finished the season with 108 catches for 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns before missing the final four games with a heel injury.
Moore had 136 targets as the No. 1 receiver in Chicago, and he had 96 catches for 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns. He set career highs in catches, yards and touchdowns, and he averaged a career-best 16.4 PPR points per game.
I still like Moore better than Allen given Moore's big-play ability and age (26), but he loses value with Allen now in Chicago. And Allen, who will be 32 in April, loses value going to a new team and leaving Justin Herbert.
Allen should still prove to be a valuable weapon and target hog. But if he's not getting 145-plus targets (he's done that four times in the past five years) with the chance for 100-plus receptions (also four times in the past five seasons) then his Fantasy value could be extremely limited.
We'll have more to talk about with the Chicago receiving corps once the quarterback decision is made. But Fields or Williams got better with the Bears putting Allen and Moore on the roster together. Unfortunately, both Allen and Moore got worse when it comes to the Fantasy value in 2024.
