Faceoff - WR Earl Bennett, Chicago Bears

Posted 8/3, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Upside - by Jason Wood

The Bears WR corps was all set to be irrelevant in fantasy circles again, but then Chicagof GM Jerry Angelo shocked us all and traded for Jay Cutler. Teams never get to trade for young franchise passers, but thanks to a completely botched handling of the post Mike Shanahan transition in Denver, Cutler became available and Angelo intelligently grabbed the young Turk.

With Cutler in place, the opportunity is there for several of the Bears pass catchers to achieve fantasy relevance. Devin Hester is considered the most likely beneficiary given his blistering speed and strong late season showing in 2008. But Hester is by no means a complete receiver, and for the Bears to capitalize on Cutler's skill set, they need someone that can catch 80-100 balls from him, which means someone who can run precise routes and make plays in all downs and distances.

To my mind, that player is none other than Earl Bennett. Bennett was a 3rd round selection out last year but hardly saw the field. In spite of his 'red shirt' rookie season, Bennett's worth ethic and devotion to the playbook impressed the coaches last year and Bennett was already in line for a starting job this season. He ran with the 1st team in mini-camps and OTAs, and garnered the praise of his head coach and OC Ron Turner.

But that's not where the excitement ends. You see, Earl Bennett attended Vanderbilt University. Vanderbilt is hardly an NFL hotbed of talent, but it IS where Jay Cutler went to school. That's right, Jay Cutler is reunited with his favorite collegiate target, in a situation where Bennett was already slated to be a starter.

If you wonder whether Bennett can make an immediate contribution, you need look no further than Cutler's top pass catchers in Denver. Brandon Marshall caught 102 passes in his second season, and then Eddie Royal caught 91 passes as a rookie in 2008. Neither WR had the history or built in rapport with Cutler that Bennett has, yet Bennett is being drafted 56th among wide outs.

Unless you think Jay Cutler's arrival in Chicago will be a complete failure, Earl Bennett is an unbelievably exciting option in the late rounds of your draft. In my view, he has a chance to be this year's Kevin Walter. He's got a polished skill set, isn't afraid to catch balls across the middle, and will have that unspoken connection with his QB that some receivers take years to develop.

Downside - by Jeff Pasquino

Now and then, you get difficult arguments to make on players -- that's just how it goes sometimes.

This is not one of those times.

You really want to know the low side of Earl Bennett? Perhaps we can start with the easy part -- no one even rostered this guy last year in any redraft league that I saw. Any. None. Nada. That's right -- the guy was unrosterable last year. Now we are expected to believe that he's ready to come out of nowhere and be a starting NFL wide receiver AND contribute to fantasy teams, putting up numbers that are at least WR3 numbers on anything close to a consistent basis?

Come on....

Jay Cutler is not some magic elixir heading to Chicago to resurrect the Bears' offense. He is a good quarterback, but that doesn't mean that he can transform any player into a Top 30-40 wideout. The Bears historically are a defense first, run the ball second team that is happy to be in 20-17 contests on a weekly basis.

I'll play along with those that say Bennett is a solid sleeper -- let's go down that road. Where does he rank on most plays when Cutler drops back to pass and starts going through his reads? Devin Hester has to be the first wide receiver that Cutler looks to on most plays, and if Hester isn't open he should look to TE Greg Olsen. If both of them are covered, odds are the Cutler is pulling the ball down to scramble or dump it off to Matt Forte -- who just happened to be the top receiver for the Bears last season. So at best Bennett is the fourth option in the passing attack -- which might get him three or four targets a game. Even if he reels all of them in and averages 15 yards per catch, that's a peak value of 60 yards on four receptions -- where do I sign up?

Your roster is only so big, so target other receivers with bigger upside than Bennett for your last one or two wideout spots. Bennett is highly unlikely to find the end zone with any regularity or flirt with over 600 yards for the season, but if you take a third WR on a pass-happy team at least you are one injury away from good production. Let someone else gamble on Bennett as their sleeper this year.