Fantasy Football Start or Sit Week 2: Cole Kmet, Kalif Raymond, Cairo Santos, Bears D/ST

Our Week 2 fantasy football start or sit advice for the Bears' D/ST and tight end Cole Kmet, wide receiver Kalif Raymond and kicker Cairo Santos.

Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet (85) catches the ball for a touchdown in the second quarter against the Carolina Panthersat Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

We saw unlikely fantasy football performances from Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet and wide receiver Kalif Raymond against the Carolina Panthers in Week 1.

Raymond finished with the most catches and receiving yards on the team with 8 for 84, and Kmet found pay dirt with one of his receptions and ultimately finished with two grabs for 35 yards.

We say those performances are unlikely not because those guys aren't capable, but because nobody expected Raymond to lead all Bears pass-catchers and Kmet's production came amid star tight end Colston Loveland getting blanked.

Meanwhile, kicker Cairo Santos showed his reliability once again, but the Bears' defense went in the opposite direction after surrendering 37 points and 478 yards of total offense.

Knowing all that, let's find out if any of these Bears players or their D/ST should be in fantasy football lineups for a Week 2 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.

Cole Kmet start or sit advice

Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet (85) celebrates scoring a touchdown in the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With fantasy football production from the tight end position hard to come by, Kmet offered up a strong performance in Week 1, but that wasn't because of his yardage output and instead had to do with Kmet's touchdown grab on a dime from Caleb Williams.

Take away the score and Kmet, who only had three targets, finishes as TE27 overall instead of TE11, per Fantasy Pros.

While we expect to see more Kmet touchdowns this season, that's not something you can bank on every week from the Bears' No. 2 tight end, who is no better than fifth in the pass-catcher order.

Rostering Kmet as a handcuff to Loveland makes sense if you have the space, but he should not be in lineups until we see consistent production.

Verdict: Sit

Kalif Raymond start or sit advice

Raymond's status as the top pass-catcher in Chicago's offense last week was shocking and led to him ranking as WR15 overall and being a hot waiver wire addition this past week.

While Raymond is continuing the success he had with Bears head coach Ben Johnson in the past when they were together with the Lions, he's still the No. 4 option in the passing attack, at best, behind Colston Loveland, Rome Odunze, and Luther Burden. Raymond might finish behind Kmet some weeks, also.

Sorry to say that even with his impressive showing in Week 1, we still need to see a lot more before advising you to start Raymond, especially at this early stage in the season when there aren't a lot of injuries or bye weeks.

Verdict: Sit

Cairo Santos start or sit advice

Chicago Bears kicker Cairo Santos (8) kicks a field goal in the second quarter against against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Even though he only attempted and made one field goal last week as the Bears scored touchdowns at will, Santos still managed to rank as K7 overall on the strength of a ridiculous eight extra points.

This week presents a tougher matchup for the Bears' offense, so we could see more stalled drives and more field goal chances for Chicago's kicker, leading to another strong showing for Santos.

Verdict: Start

Bears D/ST start or sit advice

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Jalen Coker (18) runs with the ball while defended by Chicago Bears defensive back Tyrique Stevenson (29) in the second half at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Despite giving up 37 points to the Panthers in Week 1, the Bears D/ST still finished tied for DST13 overall. However, that still puts Chicago's unit on the fringe of starting options in 12-team leagues.

Truth be told, you'll be reaching a new level of bold if you decide to start a fantasy defense off a 37-point performance. Maybe better days are ahead for the Bears' defense, but we'll have to see it to believe it before trusting Chicago against anyone.

Verdict: Sit