Johnny Knox has to fight for his job, but the Chicago Bears have already named wide receiver Devin Hester as their starting flanker. And the coaches weren't afraid to sing his praises. "[Hester] played even ­better than I thought he did," ­offensive coordinator Mike Martz told the Chicago Sun-Times on Sunday. "He's an outstanding wide receiver. He's very quiet and understated, and we had trouble getting him the ball, but I don't foresee that being an issue this year." Head coach Lovie Smith said Hester "will be a huge part of the offense." Wide receivers coach Darryl Drake said that Hester "played so much better than people imagined. Sometimes you don't realize some things until you really sit down and you look and see what you asked of him, and he was ­always where he was ­supposed to be. "He really was our best receiver last year, even though the numbers didn't show it." Earl Bennett appears to be the Bears' No. 1 slot receiver.

Fantasy Analysis:

Hester can be a good slot receiver in his own right. He's small and fast and can get open. I have no problem with him getting playing time at flanker. But to say that he was the team's best receiver in 2010 is simply false. I don't get it, and I don't think the Bears' coaches are watching the same thing that we all witnessed. This obviously improves Hester's fantasy value, but I don't think he's anything more than a WR3. He will not be a consistent producer, and I'm sure Jay Cutler will continue to have trouble getting him the ball.