A few drafts for the upcoming season have already come and gone for obsessed fantasy football players. An every-down running back here, a volume wide receiver there. Some of the mystery is gone for the sleepers, and this weekend will bring even more opportunities to get the upper hand on their friends and family.

And then there are some who stick to one league and one league only.

Mock drafts with strangers online are fun. Zero consequence euphoria typically is. It will always pale in comparison to the real thing, though. Coming out of a fantasy draft can be elating or deflating but usually lands somewhere in between. We’ll trick ourselves into thinking we got the steal of the draft and move into week one praying for health for our new favorite NFL superstar.

Even in the non-fantasy football world, paying attention to which teams are stacked with offensive players putting up numbers can be fun. The Bucs have two WR1s and a power running back? Lamar Jackson can win MVP, and the only player on his team with numbers is his TE? Fantasy Football talk can leak into regular statistical discussion seamlessly. Unfortunately for Bears fans, the Monsters of the Midway aren’t exactly stacked with fantasy talent.

When will your favorite Chicago Bears player fall in Fantasy Football drafts?

To answer this question, I ran three mock drafts in PPR format, with 12 teams per league online with strangers. Then I averaged those against ESPN’s list of highest-projected fantasy football performers in 2022-23, with additional consideration for positional value.

The full chart is at the bottom.

*Formatting: This will be based on a standard PPR format with Team Defense. If you play non-PPR formats, kudos to you. Let us know your scoring rules in the comments!

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David Montgomery, Drafted 44th

Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Entering a contract year, the Bears’ fourth-year running back is the unquestioned starter. Despite the offensive struggles in 2021, Montgomery still averaged 88.46 all-purpose yards per game, with a few receptions in each game keeping him as a reliable double-digit fantasy performer. Touchdowns were still few and far between, but the hope in Chicago is that Luke Getsy will bring a much more consistent offensive attack. Montgomery has been a volume back lately, and he’s a great RB2 to pick up.

ESPN has him as the 39th-highest projection for 2022 fantasy points, and he was taken in mock drafts at 47, 49, and 45. His positional value is worth a boost, so his adjusted draft position is #44 off the board.

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Darnell Mooney, Drafted 53rd

Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Mooney wasn’t supposed to be the top-performing receiver in Chicago last year, but when defenses started crowding Allen Robinson, the second year receiver started finding holes. Now in his third year and the leader atop a very questionable wide receiver room, it should be assumed that he’ll top 1000 receiving yards as a baseline and 100 receptions with good health. Targets are there (140!! hit him in the hands, Justin!) and he’s plenty fast.

ESPN has him projected as the 50th player off the board, and the mock drafts agreed at 50, 61, and 58. He’ll get a slight boost for being WR25 in the pool, so when adjusted, expect him off the board by pick 53. Solid flex.

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Cole Kmet, 123

Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

We’ve already had content arguing that Kmet is a steal in this fantasy season, but it was fascinating when going through mock drafts and seeing Cole Kmet still on the board as I’m drafting my WR5. He’s on a bad offense, but so are Pitts and Hockenson, and they were long gone before I could even fill out my starting receivers and backs. Kmet hasn’t looked elite yet in Chicago, and he struggles with separation at times. But this is fantasy football. All I really care about is volume, and Kmet gets targets all day.

He averages between ESPN and mocks at 122.75, and with tight end being such a vanilla fantasy football position, he’ll round to 123. Expect him around late for a fun sleeper pick.

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Justin Fields, 139

Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Quarterback is the most important position in professional sports, and it isn’t close. They significantly impact wins and losses, they dominate MVP discussions, and the quickest way to determine if your team is a contender is ask yourself if you have an elite QB. All this is why fantasy football formats almost always geld passing stats. The way around this is typically by finding a dual-threat quarterback in fantasy football, and Justin Fields was supposed to be exactly that out of Ohio State. He should still be, but the new offense needs to get him on the move more often.

Fields averaged out at 138, with an adjusted positional value drop down to 139. You *can stream quarterbacks if you don’t have Josh Allen or Mahomes.

*Unless you were in Windy City Gridiron’s 20-team 2021 fantasy football league, in which case that was fun but unforgiving. I’m keeping it to 12 teams this year. Read to the end to sign up.

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Khalil Herbert, 172

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Herbert battled his way up from return specialist only, to fill-in running back for four games in 2021, and he figures to see increased action in situational play this year. The Bears drafted Trestan Ebner out of Baylor, so Herbert’s current backup role isn’t exactly nailed down. He’s worth a bench spot in deep leagues, but if you’re playing in a smaller league with friends and family he’ll be available on waivers if (god forbid) Montgomery goes down with an injury.

Herbert averaged at 173, so with his positional boost expect him off the board at 172 if your draft goes that deep.

FULL CHART:

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PLAY FANTASY FOOTBALL WITH WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Let’s play fantasy football together as a Windy City Gridiron community! In an effort to even the playing field between those who have never played fantasy sports before and those who have been playing for years, we’re going to play with very standard PPR rules. If you play with a different scoring system, let us know in the comments!

As with last year, there will be two leagues, the WCG-Navy League and the WCG-Orange League. The Navy league is almost full, sign up now right here. The Navy League draft is scheduled for Sunday, September 4th at 12:00 Noon Central Time.

If you missed your chance at the Navy League, don’t worry! You can join the Orange League here. The Orange League draft is scheduled for Sunday, September 4th at 1:00 PM Central Time.

Both league’s rosters will have 1 quarterback, 2 running backs, 2 wide receivers, 1 tight end, 1 flex (any RB, WR, or TE can be slotted here), 1 Defense, and 1 Kicker. The bench is limited to 4 players in the effort to reduce excess stashing.

If you’re interested in joining a fun Fantasy Football league with fellow Bears fans, then you can join here.