Summer Sleeper: Chicago Bears

Nick Whalen

summersleeper

We continue our annual 32-part Summer Sleeper series where DLF scribes identify a lightly-touted player on each NFL roster who may be worthy of your consideration. Our subjects all have varying levels of “sleeperness,” but each merits a bit of in-depth discussion here in the Premium Content section.

To help everybody along, we are going to be categorizing our sleepers under one of three headings:

  • Super Deep Sleepers – Players who aren’t roster-worthy in 12-team leagues, but are still worth keeping an eye on.
  • Deep Sleepers – An end of the roster player who is more often than not on the waiver wire in 12-team leagues.
  • Sleeper – A likely rostered player who makes for a good trade target. Their startup ADP puts them out of the top-175 or so.

Because we aren’t going give you the likes of mainstream sleepers like Allen Robinson or C.J. Anderson, most of these players will undoubtedly fizzle. All we are asking is for you to keep an open mind and perhaps be willing to make room for one of these players on your bench. You never know when the next Alfred Morris is going to spring up.  Feel free to add your own thoughts about our choice for the designated sleeper, or nominate one of your own in the comments below.

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In 2013, the Bears hired Marc Trestman to become their new Head Coach and I was excited after reading his book to have an offensive mind in Chicago. The Bears improved from 16th in the NFL in scoring in 2012 to 2nd in 2013! The expectations were high for the 2014 season with Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall signing long-term contracts and the offensive line was finally not a weakness. I even heard Super Bowl talk after Chicago signed Jared Allen, Lamarr Houston and Willie Young to improve one of the worst defenses in the league. Well, disaster hit and wrapped itself in an avalanche as it got compounded all season long. The Bears finished 23rd in scoring, benched Cutler and only won five games. Bad outcomes yield consequences and the coaching staff was fired. Switching from an offensive minded head coach to a defensive minded head coach in John Fox could be perceived as a negative. However, a new regime provides a great opportunity for value. They favor “their guys” and don’t have ties to the previous coaching staff’s “guys.” Which brings me to the prince of sleepers on the Chicago Bears.

Eddie Royal, WR
(Deep Sleeper)

I would classify Royal as borderline between a deep sleeper and a super deep sleeper with his July ADP at #226.

As a Bears fan, I keep close tabs on my team and led me to identify Royal as a player to obtain for many reasons: rapport with Cutler, connection with Fox and Adam Gase, Fox favors playing veterans, guaranteed money and OTA hype. Royal was a second round pick back in 2008 out of Virginia Tech and measures in a 5’10” 185lbs. He excels as a slot receiver, although he can play on the outside and returning kicks.

The 2008 season may seem like a long time ago (heck it probably was with George W. Bush as President), but it was Eddie Royal’s rookie year in the NFL. Even with Brandon Marshall entrenched as the stud WR1 for the Broncos, Royal busted out with 91 receptions for 980 yards and five touchdowns. He caught over 70% of his targets and the fantasy community was in love. I know many don’t remember those days, so here is a link to refresh your memory. Cutler was his QB in 2008 and the future look bright for all involved. However, Mike Shanahan got fired after the season and Josh McDaniels became the new head coach. As I discussed in the introduction, old regime players don’t perform as well as new regime players because they are not the coaches “guys.” McDaniels traded away Cutler that offseason, which forced Royal to not only get used to a new offensive system, but also a new quarterback in Kyle Orton. The remaining three years in Denver didn’t work out for Royal. However, now he is reunited with Jay Cutler and they already have rapport on the football field. Remember when Cutler got reunited with Marshall? He force fed targets to him. I’m not saying that Royal will return to his 91/980/5 season in 2015, but having good production with the QB is a big check mark for me and it was their only season together.

Bears new Offensive Coordinator Adam Gase was Royal’s wide receiver coach in 2009-10 in Denver. Royal didn’t put up great statistics, but he also had Orton and Tim Tebow at quarterback, so I’ll let it slide. Bears new Head Coach John Fox had the same title with the Broncos in 2011, Royal’s last season with the team. He joined his former Offensive Coordinator in Denver and new Head Coach Mike McCoy in San Diego for the next three seasons and made solid money. Now his former position and head coach forked out over 10 million guaranteed to bring Royal back to their team. I see a trend of his former coaches wanting him on their new team, which makes Royal a valuable member of a team.

Fox has shown a trend in playing more experienced players over talented younger counterparts. In Carolina, he started DeShaun Foster over DeAngelo Williams, much to the dismay of the fantasy community. The 2013 season saw Fox playing Knowshown Moreno over rookie second round pick Montee Ball. In 2014, he redshirted second round pick receiver Cody Latimer in favor of more experienced players. During the 2015 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears selected wide receiver Kevin White with the seventh overall pick. White only played two seasons of FBS football and now is playing for a coach that favors more experienced players. I’m not saying White won’t play in his rookie season, but I think Royal will get more playing time than some expect.

Alshon Jeffery is a very good football player and will be the top receiver in Chicago. But why would the team invest $10 million guaranteed dollars over the next two seasons for a player they wouldn’t utilize often? One could argue about investing the high draft pick into White as well. However, I’m going to follow the money here and guess Chicago has bigger plans for Royal in 2015.

The OTA’s(Organized Team Activities) this offseason showed Kevin White playing mostly with the second team. Meanwhile, according to ESPN’s Mike Sando, Eddie Royal’s “early grasp of the Bears’ new offense has him in great position to play a prominent role right away.” ESPN Bears reporter Jeff Dickerson identified Royal as a player who stood out during the Bears’ off-season program. NFL.com’s Albert Breer reports the Bears have “big plans” for their new slot receiver as well. That’s some very high praise from three sources on Rotoworld.

Believe it or not, Royal finished as the WR33 in PPR leagues in 2014 and has 15 touchdowns over the last two seasons. He’s now reunited with the quarterback who led him to the best season of his career and coaches who believe in him – they gave him solid money in free agency and are giving him a big opportunity during the off-season program. Royal is taking it and shining like a star. But will you grab him for almost nothing in your fantasy leagues for some solid WR3/4 production?

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nick whalen
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