Who Should I Start? D'Andre Swift or Rashod Bateman

Tuesday, March 26, 4:39 PM

The Chicago Bears signing of former Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles running back D'Andre Swift was one of the first moves of free agency, and head coach Matt Eberflus suggested he will be a passing game weapon for the organization. "We just felt that we wanted a home-run hitter there. I think D'Andre brings that. We wanted a weapon back -; a guy who could be a weapon out of the backfield," Eberflus said. "I know that in situational football it's very difficult to be able to have the two guys outside covered, two tight ends covered, and then you got another situation where you have the weapon back inside. So that was critical." It sounds like Chicago is planning to utilize Swift out of the backfield more often, which was a role he excelled in while in Detroit. Swift posted just a 10% target share in his lone season in Philadelphia after being at 15.1% in 2022 and 18.4% in 2021. With Chicago almost certainly slated to take USC's Caleb Williams with the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Swift could see a ton of usage underneath as a receiver while Williams feels out the NFL game.

Tuesday, February 27, 3:21 PM

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said that wide receiver Rashod Bateman is going to get the ball "a lot more" next season and said that he expects the wideout to take a big step forward in 2024. Odell Beckham Jr. may not return in free agency, which would help, but most fantasy managers will likely want to see it before believing Harbaugh's words. The 24-year-old disappeared more often than not in his third NFL season in 2023, finishing with just 32 receptions for 367 yards and one touchdown on 56 targets in 16 regular-season games. A lot more would have been expected of the former first-rounder had we known he was going to stay healthy all year. Unless Zay Flowers or tight end Mark Andrews miss time with injury in 2024, Bateman will have an uphill battle to climb again for consistent fantasy value.