INDIANAPOLIS — Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Roquan Smith, Kyle Fuller, Tashaun Gipson, Eddie Jackson.
The Chicago Bears certainly have plenty of star power on their defense; yet, to three games into the 2020 season, the unit has yielded its share of fantasy points to opposing offenses, too, including a season-high 26 points to the Atlanta Falcons last week.
Then there's the Indianapolis Colts' offense, which through three games has proven to spread the wealth; running back Jonathan Taylor is a must-start each week, but with injuries at wide receiver, matched with returning firepower at tight end, it's been tough to find any sort of fantasy consistency elsewhere.
So what should you expect from the Colts players on your fantasy rosters in Week 4? We've got you covered here.
(Weekly positional rankings from FantasyPros.com, based on Half-PPR scoring. Ranks as of Friday morning of game week.)
QB Philip Rivers
» FantasyPros Week 4 Position Rank: QB26
» Bears vs. QBs: 2nd (11.8 FPPG)
While the Bears have had their struggles from time to time this season against opposing running backs and receivers, they've been about as good as it gets — well, other than the Colts' defense, that is — in their matchups against opposing quarterbacks. Rivers has done a fantastic job coming in and doing everything asked of a quarterback running Frank Reich's offense through the first three weeks of the season — he leads the league in completion percentage and has a high yards-per-attempt figure — but we're still waiting to see him bust out individually one week with a ton of yards and touchdowns. While that certainly could happen today against the Bears, the numbers and projections show he doesn't fall under the "must-start" category in this one.
RBs Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines
» FantasyPros Week 4 Position Rank: Taylor RB5, Hines RB33
» Bears vs. RBs: 21st (21.3 FPPG)
The rookie Taylor continues to be a must-start in the early goings of the season, and while he's done a solid job since taking over the starting role in Week 2, it seems like it's only a matter of time before he breaks out with an epic performance. So, basically, you're going to get solid production out of him in your lineup pretty much every week, but the "big one" is coming, so will that be today against the Bears, who have been ho-hum fantasy-wise against running backs this season? Hines, meanwhile, has seen his fantasy production dip the last couple weeks, but one has to imagine that's a blip on the radar; I wouldn't be surprised if we saw more screens and quick throws to Hines in this one today, much like in Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
WRs T.Y. Hilton and Zach Pascal
» FantasyPros Week 4 Position Rank: Hilton WR28, Pascal WR59
» Bears vs. WRs: Tied-7th (18.8 FPPG)
So now that Parris Campbell and Michael Pittman Jr. are on injured reserve and out indefinitely, who steps up in their place? While any number of guys — Ashton Dulin, Daurice Fountain, Marcus Johnson and Dezmon Patmon among them — make sense if we're talking about the Colts' depth chart, from a fantasy perspective, I'm looking right at Hilton. I don't think there's any way Hilton's production doesn't rise significantly now that two other top targets in Campbell and Pittman Jr. aren't available. The fantasy experts aren't really buying Hilton this week as a must-start, but I am. Then there's Pascal, who, to me, could either go for seven catches for 110 yards or four catches for 45 yards on any given week, which makes him an ideal WR3 or WR4 if you need it.
TE Mo Alie-Cox and Jack Doyle
» FantasyPros Week 4 Position Rank: Alie-Cox TE20, Doyle TE27
» Bears vs. TEs: 18th (8.3 FPPG)
The Bears have proven to be about mediocre against tight ends so far in 19 games under defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano, but making this an even more difficult matchup to project is the fact that Trey Burton could very well be making his Colts debut today after spending the first three weeks of the season on IR. If that ends up being the case, the Colts now have three solid fantasy options at the tight end position in Alie-Cox, Doyle and Burton. But, to me, you stay on the Alie-Cox bandwagon until it shows any signs of slowing down; what's clear is he's earned a major part of the offense moving forward, no matter who else is in at tight end on a given week. I will say this, though: there's something about those "revenge" games, and if you're looking for someone to pick up last-minute that could provide a spark, Burton, who was cut by the Bears this offseason, might be a decent sleeper this week.
Colts Defense/Special Teams
» FantasyPros Week 4 Position Rank: DST5
» Bears vs. DSTs: 19th (7.0 FPPG)
Can the Colts' defense keep its momentum going today? After two straight games with three interceptions and a safety forced, this unit definitely seems to showing true signs of clicking — and the numbers indicate through the first three weeks of the season, Indy has the No. 1 defense in the league. Fantasy-wise, the Colts are believed to have a favorable defensive matchup today against the Bears, too, but there's the element of the unknown now that Nick Foles has taken over as the starting quarterback after replacing Mitchell Trubisky, who was benched in the second half of last week's game against the Falcons. Foles came in and lit it up last Sunday, but his entire career he's really been known to be a "boom or bust" type of player. Chicago certainly is no juggernaut on offense, anyway, so keep starting the Colts' DST.
