Instant Analysis: Chicago Bears Land Allen Robinson

Allen Robinson has agreed to a three-year, $42 million dollar deal with the Chicago Bears. This move was one the Bears desperately needed to make since they didn’t provide their young quarterback Mitchell Trubisky with many options last season. Let’s take a peak together at what this means for the different components of the Bears’ offense.

Allen Robinson, WR CHI

Allen Robinson is coming off an ACL injury that meant he only played in one game last season, but that didn’t stop the Bears from getting their man. Remember, this is a player who is only two seasons removed from having a season line of 80 catches, 1,400 yards, and 14 touchdowns. I know some knock him for following that up with a 73-883-6 line in 2016, but you must remember that Blake Bortles regressed so badly that season there was talk of removing him as the starter.

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Now, Robinson will move on to catching his passes from Mitchell Trubisky, known as “Super Troober” to some. Trubisky may not have impressed you in his rookie season considering he threw as many interceptions as he did touchdowns. However, what were you expecting when the most targeted receiver on the team was Kendall Wright? I don’t want to take anything away from Kendall Wright, but he is certainly not Allen Robinson.

It’s worth noting that the Bears ranked dead last in passing attempts last season. Again though, they had a rookie quarterback and not great receiving options. Now, they’ve brought in Matt Nagy as their head coach – previously the offensive coordinator for the Chiefs. Also, as the season went on last year, the training wheels were taken off Trubisky and he could attempt more passes.

As of March 2018 DLF ADP, Robinson was the 14th-ranked receiver off the board. It’s not unrealistic to expect him to get a huge target volume like DeAndre Hopkins since he is now the main receiving threat on that team. Robinson is currently going at the start of the third round in dynasty startups, and I hope you bought early in this off-season. His price is only about to go up.

Mitchell Trubisky, QB CHI

Speaking of Trubisky, this can only be good for his real life and fantasy stats. Robinson is only 25, and he and Trubisky will be able to build a rapport for years to come. However, before we look forward, let’s examine Trubisky’s rookie season a bit more.

As I mentioned before, as the season went on Trubisky could attempt more passes. To be exact, in his first six starts he attempted on average 24.5 passes per game. In his next six starts, he attempted 30.8 passes per game. Those six extra attempts per game make a significant difference.

I know that Trubisky didn’t finish the season as a QB2, however, when you look at the fact that he finished as the QB28 despite only starting 12 games it starts to look a little better. I bet many of you didn’t know that he had two top-12 weeks, five top-24 weeks, and five outside the top-24 weeks.

Now just imagine adding someone as talented as Allen Robinson for him to throw passes to. Are you excited yet? You should be. Trubisky was the QB19 in DLF March ADP, however, that was a three-point rise from February as people get on board the hype train. I hope you bought early because he’s going to be at minimum a QB2 for those of you in superflex or 2QB leagues for years to come.

Cameron Meredith, WR CHI

If this trade hurts anyone, it has to be Meredith. Much like Allen Robinson, Meredith was coming off a torn ACL this past season. There were those who assumed that when he returned he would find himself towards the top of what was shaping out to be a weak depth chart.

After the news about Robinson came out, it broke that Meredith was only offered an original round tender. Since Meredith was originally an undrafted free agent, the Bears won’t receive any compensation if they decide not to match the offer for him. It says a lot about what the current Bears organization thinks of Meredith that they weren’t willing to offer him a higher tender.

Interestingly, Meredith’s ADP has steadily climbed after a huge drop when the news of the injury initially surfaced. One must wonder if that was in the hopes that he would be the number one guy for Trubisky, rather than ‘just another guy’. Remember, this is a player who put up over 800 yards alongside Alshon Jeffery back in 2016. Staying with Robinson may not be as bad for his fantasy stock as we all think.

Jordan Howard, RB CHI

You really think I’d let you go an entire article about the Bears offense without mentioning Jordan Howard? Maybe you need a refresher on how I think Howard can still be a productive player even if he is just a two-down rusher? Even if you don’t, you may be questioning why I think this is a positive for Jordan Howard.

It’s simple. I think Allen Robinson elevates the offense. The ability to move down the field means more red zone opportunities for everyone, including the Bears primary running back who’s been a high-end RB2 every season in a poor offense. I hope you bought low when I was hyping him before.

Tarik Cohen, RB CHI

I happen to like Tarik Cohen and hope the new coaching will use him properly. I doubt this impacts his value greatly since he and Robinson have very different roles. If anything, the combination of this addition and the Trey Burton signing may hurt his projected red zone usage a bit.

However, I do not like him as much as the rest of the dynasty community seems to like him. Cohen was already going as high as 83rd overall in March. If anyone thinks the move bumps his stock up, I may look to move him at that price because he’s already being priced as if he hits his ceiling.

Kendall Wright, WR CHI

The former first-round pick just can’t seem to catch a break, can he? Kendall Wright had a 94-1079-2 line back in 2013, his age 24 season. He followed it up with a 93-57-715-6 campaign with those passes coming from a combo of Charlie Whitehurst, Zach Mettenberger, and Jake Locker. When Marcus Mariota finally arrived on the scene, he was phased out of that offense.

I thought he might get the fresh start he needed in Chicago this past season, and he did emerge as the top pass catcher. He totaled over 500 yards for the first time in three seasons and looked like he may have been carving out a role for himself on the Bears. Maybe I just can’t give up on him, but going into his age-29 season, I can’t really expect much at this point. It’s possible he’s the man who lines up opposite of Allen Robinson, but that’s probably not worth getting excited about. The best thing I can say for him is he is incredibly cheap for anyone who believes he may even be slightly relevant.

That’s going to do it for this piece. However, keep it tuned to Dynasty League Football. It’s been a crazy few news days and we will continue to bring you the dynasty spin as it breaks.

*This article borrows heavily from pro-football-reference.com.

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