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Former Green Bay Packers tight end Robert Tonyan has found a new home in the NFC North. He agreed to a contract with the Chicago Bears and will join a revamped offensive attack and roster in 2023.
Tonyan led all tight ends in receiving touchdowns (11) in 2020, but his production has declined mightily over the past two seasons catching passes from Aaron Rodgers.
Is Tonyan a good fit with Chicago and what is his 2023 fantasy football outlook? Let's get to it.
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Robert Tonyan 2022 Season Review
In 17 games during the 2022 NFL season, Tonyan caught 53 of his 67 targets for 470 yards and two touchdowns. With Davante Adams leaving town, Tonyan was expected to take a step forward, but the overall passing volume was down for Green Bay as the offense struggled under Rodgers.
His 2020 season with 11 touchdowns seems more like a fluke the further we get away from it, as he actually had one fewer reception in 2020 than in 2022. His top-12 fantasy TE year was simply a product of an unsustainable high touchdown rate.
Either way, he's a quality athlete for the tight end spot and will add depth to the room alongside Cole Kmet.
Robert Tonyan 2023 Fantasy Football Outlook
While Tonyan should help the Bears' offense as a secondary pass-catching tight end -- that's likely all his role will be. Kmet caught 50 passes for 544 yards and seven touchdowns last season, which were solid numbers considering Chicago had the worst passing offense in the NFL. Kmet posted a 28.9 percent dominator rating (a player's percentage of the team's total receiving yards and touchdowns) and should still be locked in as the team's TE1.
Perhaps Tonyan will have some touchdown upside too, but it's hard to see him being a rosterable player in 2023 unless Kmet suffers an injury. Even before the 2023 NFL Draft, Tonyan projects to be behind DJ Moore, Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool, and Kmet in the target pecking order. The team will likely continue to be a low-volume passing unit, so it's tough to find any path to fantasy success.
For now, he's nothing more than a last-round dart throw in deep Best Ball drafts.
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