Expect David Montgomery Warm-Up First

The dead zone for fantasy football players that is the 2021 Chicago Bears is about to reactivate.Actually, it will be more of a warm-up than full-fledged rebirth.The return of David Montgomery to the field restores one of the two or po sibly three players fantasy owners would have drafted from an NFL franchise traditionally void of offensive statistics, and now heading well beyond its normal state of offensive futility.Montgomery was averaging 4.5 yards a carry before his knee injury and will be back.Montgomery's attraction for fantasy owners was his dual purpose because he caught 54 pa ses last year but this season is different. It started with Montgomery making six receptions in four games. That put him on a pace for le s than half of last year's total.The truth is, in both the real world and the fantasy world, quarterback Justin Fields is a drag on offensive production. This is how rookie quarterbacks normally are, and it's not a knock on Fields' ability to develop into a good NFL Whit Merrifield Jersey quarterback. He definitely isn't there yet and it's not going to happen overnight. Quarterbacks who can run and are rookies tend to try to do everything themselves, and last week was a good example. Fields ran all over for 103 yards and the Bears had just 22 points against a defense aching to part with 30. It was a good total for the Bears but not a good enough total to get them close to winning.This being said, Montgomery's Kelvin Herrera Jersey use in the pa sing game will be like Allen Robinson's. Their other big fantasy contributor from the last two years is going to be limited in production until Fields can elevate his pa sing to NFL standards.There is another drag on Montgomery's status for fantasy owners. Khalil Herbert did enough in Montgomery's absence to warrant more carries than a backup would normally receive. "Both of those guys are weapons," coach Matt Nagy said. "They could both run the ball hard and they could both block and catch the ball out of the backfield, so I'm excited."Whether Herbert actually is a threat as a receiver out of the backfield hasn't been proven. What has been proven is Montgomery's return will not be at the same level he had been at because circumstances with the Bears on offense have changed and not for the better when it comes to fantasy ball. Expect them to gradually reap the benefits of Montgomery's presence over the rest of the season.Here are this week's play 'em or sit 'em recommendations for the Bears-Steelers Monday night game.Play 'EmSteelers QB Ben RoethlisbergerRemove Khalil Mack and Eddie Jackson, put a defense reeling from two straight poor efforts in front of him and remember that Pittsburgh is on a three-game winning streak. Their earlier troubles are part of the past. Pittsburgh runs a physical offense that requires secondaries to make plenty of tackles and the Bears definitely haven't had a hard-tackling group behind linebacker Roquan Smith. Roethlisberger gets the ball out too fast for what's left of the Bears pa s rush to get to him. Catch and run will be on the side Alex Gordon Jersey of the Steelers and Roethlisberger.Steelers RB Najee HarrisThe Bears defense is in the proce s of decay and giving up chunk yardage on the ground is a big part of this. They allowed 154, 182 and 145 yards in succe sive weeks on the ground. It was the running game that let the 49ers win the game last week. The big screen pa s turned it around but the Steelers ran for 104 yards in the second half to score and then put away the game. Bilal Nichols has been nursing minor injuries, Akiem Hicks is healthier now but groin injuries are iffy until a player is well past one. Eddie Goldman has been one of the worst nose tackles in the league, according to Pro Football Focus. The Bears will be relying on Danny Trevathan more this week due to an ankle injury to Alec Ogletree. The Steelers should be able to run, and after a slow start Harris is cooking now with 294 yards on the ground in his last three games.Steelers WR Diontae JohnsonNot nece sarily used as a receiver who can take the top off a defense, Johnson does have the quickne s to get open without a defender close and take off for bigger yardage. His longest reception on the year is 50 Martin Maldonado Jersey yards but is still averaging 11.9 yards. Versatility this year is his game but it seems unlikely the Bears would be trying to match Jaylon Johnson on him all over the field as they've done with teams' top receivers in recent games. The Pittsburgh quick pa sing game makes it pointle s. Zone defense in disguised forms will be what Roethlisberger faces and Johnson is adept at finding openings if he has the zone accurately diagnosed.Steelers WR Chase ClaypoolWhen Claypool came out of Notre Dame there were many upset the Bears took Cole Kmet instead of him in the draft to be their tight end. It would have been smart to draft him, but not to be their tight end. Claypool has made it obvious in his second year he is a real threat as a wide receiver. He has averaged 14.5 yards a reception. He isn't a U-tight end like the Bears use because he's not a combo blocker/receiver even at his size. He is more of an X-type receiver who is a real threat, and a nine-catch day he had earlier this season proved it. He would have been an ideal receiver to have after Allen Robinson leaves. Claypool hasn't nece sarily had a great season. He had two good gamesnine catches and 96 yards against Cincinnati and five catches for 130 yards against Denver. In the last two weeks he's made just six catches for 62 yards against Cleveland and Seattle. Is it a break-out week or continued struggles for Claypool? Considering the Bears' problems with open-field tackling, a 238-pound wide receiver is the last person they should want to see.Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth Eric Ebron has proven he not only is best at dropping pa ses but now can't catch many at all, so the Steelers have had to lean on Feiermuth and he has delivered the last two games. The Penn State rookie had 11 catches for 102 yards the last two games and has won the confidence of Roethlisberger after just 13 receptions for 100 yards in his first five games.Bears WR Darnell MooneyScroll to ContinueMooney is on pace for a 70-catch season, upping his total from last year, and seems to be the only wide receiver to have gained the complete faith of Fields. He's capable of so much more than 12.39 yards a catch but in this offense, saddled with a rookie pa ser, Mooney's 12.39 is a splendid average.Bears RB David MontgomeryDon't expect huge numbers from him right away but not because of his deficiencies. The Bears Bo Jackson Jersey have to figure out how to run with him in the lineup again. He's running behind a slightly different offensive line than before with Larry Borom at right tackle. He's still good enough to be their top offensive player in the game and he always has had a nose for the end zone. Montgomery gets there if they can get to the r