Chicago Bears fans should be thankful for these 5 players on offense

The Chicago Bears are 11 games into one of the most frustrating seasons in recent memory.

Look, no rational Bears fan expected this team to be great (although, I did suggest Chicago could win 11 games this year in a regrettable preseason tweet). But we certainly had every right to think Matt Eberflus and his coaching staff could put the Bears in the right position to close out games against the Denver Broncos and Detroit Lions. If they had, Chicago would be 5-6 and very much in the hunt as we enter the holiday season.

Yet here we are, with visions of the 2024 NFL draft dancing in our heads. What else is new, right?

But as Thanksgiving approaches, there are many reasons why we should appreciate this team. Several players are having good seasons and represent brighter days ahead for the Chicago Bears.

Let’s look at which players on offense have starred through the first 11 games with the highest Pro Football Grades on the team.

WR DJ Moore (86.3)

Moore has been everything the Bears hoped when they traded the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL draft to the Carolina Panthers for Moore and an avalanche of future picks, including the Panthers’ 2024 first-rounder, which is tracking to be the first overall selection this year.

Moore has appeared in all 11 games this season. He’s totaled 59 catches for 889 yards and six touchdowns, all team-highs.

The next closest Bears pass-catcher is Cole Kmet, who has less than half the receiving yards of Moore (439).

DJ Moore is a spectacular talent the Chicago Bears are lucky to have.

RB D’Onnta Foreaman (78.9)

Foreman has been one of the most pleasant surprises of the 2023 season. Sure, the Bears signed him in free agency because he’s a good running back who proved with the Panthers in 2022 that he could shoulder a starter’s workload. But he was thrust into the starting job after Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson were injured in Week 5. Herbert missed four games, Johnson missed two.

Foreman took advantage of his increased reps. He enters Week 12 with 92 carries for 381 yards and four touchdowns. He’s averaging over four yards per carry. Foreman has brought the element of a power running game to the offense that had a void in that department after David Montgomery signed with the Detroit Lions.

With Herbert and Johnson healthy again and Foreman hobbled by an ankle injury, it’s unclear whether he’ll drift down the depth chart as the season concludes.

Regardless, it’s been a job well done by D’Onta Foreman so far in 2023.

RB Khalil Herbert (78.0)

Herbert’s been limited to six games this season, but his impact on the field remains sorely underrated. He’s averaging 4.6 yards per carry (67 carries for 307 yards) and will likely resume RB1 duties for the Chicago Bears over the final six games.

Herbert might never become a full-time starter in the NFL, but he’s an extremely effective early-down back.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Herbert is among the most productive running backs in the NFL over the next 1.5 months.

QB Justin Fields (73.7)

Fields suffered a dislocated right thumb in Week 6, forcing him to miss four games. He returned to the lineup in Week 11 against the Detroit Lions, and whoa, baby, did he look good.

Fields threw for 169 yards and a touchdown and ran for 104 more.

The Chicago Bears will say the next six games are critical for Fields to prove he’s the quarterback of the future, but I have a hard time believing that. General manager Ryan Poles is a smart guy, he knows he has a playmaking freak at quarterback. If the Bears keep surrounding him with talent, good things will happen.

Fields is completing 62.7% of his passes this season for 1,370 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. He’s run the ball 65 times for 341 yards and a score.

TE Cole Kmet (71.1)

Kmet is having the best season of his career, which is a relief for Bears fans who thought Poles may have overpaid him with a four-year, $50 million extension.

Instead, Kmet is second on the team with 49 catches for 439 yards and five touchdowns. He’s on pace to finish 2023 with 678 yards and eight touchdowns.

Elite numbers? No. Quality pass-catching tight end production? Absolutely.

Kmet is only 24 years old. It’s crazy how good he’ll be in another season or two. He’ll be around for a really long time.

Notables:

OL Teven Jenkins (70.4)

Jenkins is pancaking defenders en route to a lucrative contract extension. The Bears won’t be in any rush to get a deal done this offseason, but if Jenkins continues his ascent into the top-tier of NFL guards, Poles may not have a choice.

RB Roschon Johnson (68.9)

There was a swell of excitement around Roschon after the Bears selected the Texas running back in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft. He hasn’t been unleashed yet (he had a lingering concussion that derailed his climb up the depth chart), but he looked good in Week 11 (6 car., 30 yards). If Foreman remains hobbled, Johnson will be the next man up after Herbert.