CHI · QB
Projected Points (PPR)
This week
No projection changes recorded this week.
AI-assisted · Researched and drafted by our automated pipeline, then checked for accuracy before publishing. How we make these
Caleb Williams sits atop the Chicago quarterback depth chart with no real competition for snaps. The backups on the roster, Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum, are camp arms and emergency options, not threats to his job. Williams played all seventeen games in 2025, started every one, and took ninety-nine percent of the offense's snaps that season. Through two games in 2026 he has held ninety-three point three percent of the snaps, a figure that confirms nothing about his standing has changed. He is throwing the ball fifty-five times already this year, on pace with a full season of five hundred sixty-eight attempts a year ago, and he remains the engine of both the passing game and a designed rushing package that has already produced two rushing touchdowns in two weeks. The receiving corps around him is led on the depth chart by Rome Odunze at the top receiver spot with Luther Burden III behind him, while Colston Loveland is the starting tight end as a rookie. None of that changes what Williams is asked to do: this is his offense to run, and the volume proves it.</br></br>The case for him starts with efficiency gains. His completion percentage sits at sixty-five point four five percent through two games, well above the fifty-eight point one percent he posted across all of 2025, and his passing yards pace of four hundred seven yards in two games projects to a marked step forward from the three thousand nine hundred forty-two yards he threw for last season. He is already averaging twenty-three point zero PPR points per game in 2026, ahead of his nineteen point one point-per-game rate from the year before, and his rushing has been a real weapon early: one hundred seven yards and two touchdowns on fifteen carries in two weeks alone, compared to three hundred eighty-three yards and three touchdowns on seventy-seven carries for the entire prior season. If that dual-threat profile holds, quarterback finishes in the top ten become the expectation rather than the ceiling.
The counterargument is real and worth stating plainly. Williams finished fifth among all quarterbacks in PPR scoring in 2025 but sits eighth through two games in 2026, a step back in ranking even with the per-game scoring bump, which tells you the league at his position has strengthened around him more than he has separated from it. Seven interceptions on five hundred sixty-eight attempts last season is a manageable rate, and one interception already this year on fifty-five attempts is roughly in line with that, but any uptick in turnovers is the single fastest way his weekly ceiling collapses, since his fantasy floor depends heavily on touchdown production rather than pure accuracy. A completion percentage of fifty-eight point one percent across a full season is below what teams want from a passer this deep into his career, and while the early two-game clip of sixty-five point four five percent is encouraging, two games is a small sample to lean on as proof of a permanent leap. The honest read is that Williams's value is tied tightly to his legs. Rushing production padded his 2025 fantasy line, and it is doing so again early in 2026 at a higher rate. That is a legitimate source of weekly upside for a quarterback, since rushing touchdowns and yardage on the ground do not require the same touch and timing that his arm has struggled with. But it also means his floor is less stable than a pure pocket passer's: a game where the called runs disappear, or where the ground production dries up, will expose the same accuracy questions that show up in his career completion rate. Colston Loveland's development as a rookie tight end matters here too. If Loveland becomes a reliable underneath and red-zone target, that could stabilize Williams's completion numbers over time by giving him an easy answer on third downs, but that is projection, not something the two-game sample confirms yet. Bagent and Keenum remaining stapled to the bench is not really in question, so the only exercises that matter here are whether Williams's efficiency gain is real and how much rushing volume Chicago is willing to keep feeding him. Both are genuinely uncertain, and betting for or against him this season means betting on legs and touchdown rate holding up over sample sizes far larger than two games.
Start him as your starting quarterback in all standard league formats right now. The volume is not in question, the rushing production adds a real weekly floor most pocket passers cannot match, and the early efficiency signs, even in a small sample, point toward more upside than his 2025 season alone would suggest. He is not a player to bench for a matchup unless you have a clear top-tier alternative sitting on your roster, because the rushing touchdowns alone can carry a mediocre passing week into a usable fantasy line. What would change this call is a stretch where the interception total climbs beyond his career rate or where the designed runs disappear entirely, since those are the two levers that swing his outcomes most. Watch his completion percentage over the next several weeks to see whether the current clip holds against tougher opponents, and watch how often Chicago calls quarterback runs as the season progresses. If Colston Loveland develops into a featured red-zone target, that could further stabilize Williams's weekly passing production and make him even safer to trust. For now, none of the backup quarterbacks in Chicago pose a threat to his workload, so managers should plan on him as a locked-in weekly starter rather than someone to speculate on or bench for matchup reasons.
Projections, injury status and news above update automatically. This section is rewritten when his role changes. Browse every player
Ben Johnson said Williams will not practice this week and is still week to week, keeping Tyson Bagent in line to start again.
Williams is expected to miss another game while working back from his hamstring injury, keeping Bagent in line to start again.
Williams was out again, and the Bears continued with another start without him. That keeps his fantasy managers waiting on his health and return timeline.
Oct 4, 5:45 PM ET
Williams has been declared inactive for Week 4, creating an immediate fantasy decision at quarterback.
Oct 4, 1:00 PM ET
Source:USA TODAY
Williams is out again, leaving Chicago to start another quarterback today. The Bears’ QB situation remains unsettled for fantasy purposes.
Oct 4, 9:00 AM ET
Williams has been ruled out for the Week 4 game, forcing Chicago to move to its backup quarterback and changing the fantasy outlook for the Bears' passing game.
Oct 3, 4:35 PM ET
Source:Sports Illustrated
Williams has been ruled out for the Bears' game against the Jets, and Chicago has not placed him on injured reserve. The team has left open the possibility of a return as soon as next week.
Oct 3, 8:45 AM ET
Source:en.as.com