The Chicago Bears are in the midst of their offseason program, and so far, head coach Ben Johnson has been pleased with what he’s seen. “Yesterday was a great start for us,” Johnson told the media on the second day of OTAs. “Here’s what I know about our group right now: we’ve got a bunch of really hard workers. I couldn’t be more impressed with the last five weeks, five and a half weeks now, and how they’ve approached their business.”
Among the individual players who have caught Johnson’s eye, he specifically called out second-year wide receiver Luther Burden III. “I’m buying Luther Burden stock right now,” Johnson proclaimed.
“Just how he’s approached his offseason, it’s been electric. He showed up yesterday, and he had numerous explosive plays. I loved how, in phase two, he was finishing every single rep that he took. That really translated over to yesterday as well. So he’s in a really good spot, still developing and growing his route tree…He’s been extremely coachable, so I’m really happy with him.”
Luther Burden Has Continued To Grow Throughout His NFL Career
GettyChicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III caught 47 passes for 652 yards and two touchdowns during the 2025 Regular Season.
Burden got off to a slow start during his rookie season after he missed most of the offseason with a soft-tissue hamstring injury. However, once he got rolling, he flashed vast potential as he got more involved in the Bears’ offense. Burden averaged 2.25 targets over his first eight games played compared to 6.22 over his final nine across the regular and postseason.
Burden’s best game came during Week 17, when he caught eight passes for 138 yards and a touchdown.
With Burden looking to take his game to new heights in his sophomore season, Johnson was asked about his development from when the team drafted him in 2025.
“When we drafted him, we saw an explosive athlete who was really dangerous with the ball in his hands. The question was, ‘How can we get it in his hands?’ The easy things to do are screens or short throws, but I think there’s a lot more to his game that we’ve worked on a lot. He’s been really receptive to how we can get that done. He ran a route yesterday that was the first time he had ran that route. He ran it as well as I’ve been around. Things like that get you really excited to coach.”
Caleb Williams Showing More Command In Second Season Under Johnson
GettyChicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams broke the franchise single-season passing record with 3,942 yards in 2025.
Burden isn’t the only player Johnson’s seen improve in OTAs. Johnson acknowledged the difference in the entire quarterback room and Caleb Williams’ command over the offense in year two of his system.
“We struggled to break the huddle at times last year in the spring and in training camp…Like I said, one day down, but we didn’t have that issue. The communication in the huddle. What it looks like to break the huddle. The urgency at the line of scrimmage. The tempo that we want to stress the defense with. The quarterback plays a huge part in that he orchestrates the whole operation, and those guys have taken that to heart. And so from that aspect, I feel really good with where we’re at.”
The Bears’ offense took a massive jump in Johnson’s first year, and they appear poised to take another in his second season as the organization looks to make the transition from competitor to true contender in 2026.
Bears HC Ben Johnson Hypes Up WR Luther Burden At OTAs