Chicago Bears Fantasy Rumors: Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery Starting Week 3 As Santonio Holmes Backup Option

Sep 17, 2014 12:11 PM EDT

Fantasy Football owners heading into Week 3 have Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall on their injury reports and the Chicago Bears are playing it cautious with the two WRs, as they are getting limited reps in practice and reports say they should be good to go on Monday night football against the NY Jets, but for cautious owners, Santonio Holmes is a solid pickup in case one of them goes down in the coming weeks.

The Bears offense runs with these two players so it's crucial that they stay healthy through the season and right now they both look ready to go in Week 3. According to Pro Football Talk, both Marshall and Jeffery made it out of the game against the 49ers on Sunday night without any major setbacks. The two players likely will not be 100 percent for a while, but as long as they can get on the field, Marc Trestman will play them. Matt Forte is a huge part of the offense as well, but without the two WRs playing, defenses can stack up the line on the Bears.

The Monday night football game gives both Marshall and Jeffery another day to rest up and that should give them the chance to get closer to full strength. Marshall had a huge game against the 49ers on Sunday with three touchdown grabs and it was his TD at the end of the first half that helped the Bears start their comeback. Marshall is dealing with an ankle issue, while Jeffery has a hamstring and that is an injury that usually lingers for players.

Jeffery is a strong start for this week as a WR1 and he comes in with eight catches for 118 yards in two games this year. Jeffery had a breakout season in 2013 and he led the team in yards with 1421 and had seven touchdowns on the season with a career best 89 catches. Jeffery has shown that he can handle all type of coverages and his route running improved greatly last season and that is one reason why he had such a good year.

Marshall was questionable for the game on Sunday, but any fantasy owner that started him was very pleased. Marshall had a fancy one handed grab at the end of the first half against the 49ers and he ended up with five catches for 48 yards and three touchdowns and was one of the leaders in all of fantasy. Marshall had a great season last year with 12 touchdowns and he is the top option for Jay Cutler alongside Jeffery in the passing game.

Santonio Holmes is a worthy pickup until those two players heal up but for now Marshall and Jeffery appear to be fine heading into Week 3. The Chicago Bears had wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery active for Week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers and fantasy football owners were thrilled at that move, but many also played it cautious and that is why Santonio Holmes is a very solid pick up for FF owners of either of those WRs, as they could continue to remain hobbled in the coming weeks and his reps could rise.

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