Tre McBride Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

McBride logged a healthy number of snaps for the Bears over the past seven games but he only ended up with eight catches during that stretch. His release is a good sign for Josh Bellamy, who was sidelined last week with a concussion. If he's able to play, he'll serve as Chicago's WR3 in a nice matchup. He saw seven targets in Week 11 and hauled in two of them for 57 yards and a score. Despite the spot, it's still difficult to trust any of the Bears pass-catchers. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky has only completed 52.8% of his passes for 6.38 yards per attempt and he's only thrown four touchdown passes. He'll try to pick things up on Sunday against a 49ers defense allowing the most fantasy points to QBs this year.

Dontrelle Inman and Dion Sims are both expected to play through questionable tags. Hicks was able to practice Friday after being sidelined all week with a knee injury while McPhee was absent from Friday's session with his own knee issue. Hicks is PFF's eighth-ranked interior defended in run defense and has the tenth-best run-stop rate at his position. Fellow interior defender Unrein is graded seventh in the area and has the third-best run-stop rate. The Bears run defense would certainly take a big hit if either or both of these guys end up inactive Sunday against the Eagles. Philly's backfield has been effective since Jay Ajayi came to town but it's a tough one in fantasy as they've given four different running backs touches over the past two games. Bellamy (concussion) has been operating as Chicago's third receiver. His absence could elevate Tre McBride to that role this weekend.

Chicago's receiving corps is a mess and the team is committed to keeping the ball out of their rookie quarterback's hands. That said, with Zach Miller out, more targets should head towards the receivers. The pecking order isn't very clear. Tanner Gentry has led the group in snaps for three straight weeks but he's only picked up three targets and one reception during that stretch while Kendall Wright leads them with eight. They appear to be high on Tre McBride but he hadn't attracted a single pass until last week. He seized the opportunity though, turning five looks into three catches for 92 yards. It will be Inman's first game with the team. Although he's not a particularly exciting talent, he could work his way towards the top of this group in the coming weeks. It looks like Wheaton will be the odd man out. He's been terrible in limited action this season, catching one of his nine targets. They take on the Packers this week, whose defense is giving up the fifth-most PPR points per game to receivers but it'll be tough to predict which, if any, Bears receiver can exploit the matchup. It may be best to focus on their ground game in fantasy like they will in real life. Jordan Howard has picked up at least 19 touches in six straight games and he's averaged 21.7 carries per game. Although Howard has been on a scoreless drought for the past four outings, he may be in a good spot to find the paint as the Packers are allowing the seventh-most rushing touchdowns per game (0.8) and the back has picked up the tenth-most carries inside the ten-yard line (9).

It looks like Chicago likes the chemistry between QB Mitch Trubisky and these receivers; they're going to give them the start ahead of Kendall Wright this afternoon. This doesn't mean they'll become strong fantasy targets. They have a terrible spot on the road against one of the best secondaries in the game and have a rookie under center in his second start. Trubisky put plenty of faith in his tight end, Zach Miller, last Monday, looking his way a team-high seven times, and connecting with him for a 20-yard touchdown. Miller may be the best fantasy target in their passing game as he presents a safety valve for the rookie quarterback and the Ravens rank 32nd in TE DVOA. Chicago will likely lean on Jordan Howard as long as they can though, limiting the volume and upside for Miller and the pass-catchers.