Martellus Bennett a Must-Start in Fantasy Football with Brandon Marshall Injured
Published by Scott Polacek on September 25, 2014
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The notion that you couldn’t go wrong with a number of the Chicago Bears in fantasy football was certainly prevalent before the 2014 NFL season. After all, Jay Cutler, Matt Forte, Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery all have elite talent and have put up big numbers in the past.
Enter tight end Martellus Bennett, who has been a critical cog in that high-octane attack.
Bennett is a major reason why the Bears are sitting at 2-1, especially since Marshall and Jeffery (to a lesser extent) have dealt with lingering injuries all year.
Bennett is a formidable fantasy football option at tight end even when the Bears are at full strength, but he demonstrated just how impressive he can be when Marshall was dealing with an injury Monday night against the New York Jets. Bennett finished with five receptions on eight targets for 54 yards and two touchdowns.
It was clear Cutler was comfortable targeting Bennett with some of the throws that would have gone Marshall’s way when the wide receiver missed extended time.
Bennett’s production is not just a factor of an ailing Marshall, though. He has 11 receiving yards and four touchdowns and is one of three players with a touchdown catch in every game this season, as Scott Hanson of the NFL RedZone channel noted:
Adam Caplan of ESPN NFL Insider also pointed out that Bennett is on pace for some career-high numbers in important fantasy football categories:
There is no greater proof that Bennett is a must-start every week than the fact that he has more fantasy points than every tight end in the league in Yahoo standard formats except for Julius Thomas. Bennett is even ahead of the immortal Jimmy Graham.
Tight end is not exactly a deep position either like wide receiver or quarterback, so Bennett has to be considered an elite option right now.
That is especially the case in Week 4 considering the latest update on Marshall’s health, via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune:
Chicago has plenty of offensive weapons surrounding Bennett, even if Marshall is limited, with Forte and Jeffery. We are talking about two of the elite offensive players in the NFL, and Marshall can be effective even with injury, as he proved with three touchdown receptions against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2.
Bennett may be a terrific player, but if you are a defensive coordinator you simply have to worry about the other guys first. That should free up Bennett for yet another impressive game against the Green Bay Packers.
Cutler is fine with throwing it Bennett’s way too if that is what opens up, as he told Campbell: “He’s a tough cover already, such a big guy. He’s trusting us that we’re going to put him in different spots to get him open, and it’s really paying off.”
That trust should pay off in Week 4 against archrival Green Bay.
The Packers defense was destroyed by the Seattle Seahawks and the New York Jets in Weeks 1 and 2. That Jets game would have been much worse for Green Bay’s secondary if New York didn’t take that infamous timeout, canceling a deep touchdown pass.
The Packers are 30th in the league against the run, so look for the Bears to try to take advantage of that early with Forte, which could force the Packers to devote more guys to the box. That is where Bennett will find seams up the middle and rack up more points for your fantasy team.
Just make sure he is in your lineup.
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