There’s plenty of reason to be excited about the Chicago Bears’ offense in 2026, and a major reason is because of the playmakers the Bears drafted on offense the year before — Colston Loveland, Luther Burden, and Kyle Monangai.
All three broke expectations and continue to impress in the offseason, and it’s only a matter of time until they become superstars in the NFL.
Head coach Ben Johnson commented on Loveland on June 9th after the first day of minicamp with nothing but praise.
“I love what he brings to the table. He’s one of the most consistent players I’ve been around, and that’s saying a lot for a young guy cause I think it takes a while before guys can truly understand what it means to be a professional, but he’s in early, he’s always in his playbook, he’s always taking notes. I think he really thrives with being available in the pressure moments.”
And rather than talking about himself, Loveland took the time to send the praise to Burden.
Bears TE Colston Loveland Doesn’t Hold Back on Luther Burden
GettyCHICAGO, ILLINOIS – NOVEMBER 23: Colston Loveland #84 of the Chicago Bears celebrates a touchdown during the second quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Soldier Field on November 23, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
“He’s the truth, man,” Colston Loveland said regarding Luther Burden. “He’s the truth, nothing but the truth. The way he works, his attitude, his mindset… he’s a guy you want on your team, for sure.”
The hype has been crazy this offseason for Burden, especially now that DJ Moore is gone and Rome Odunze has been dealing with a nagging foot injury.
Ben Johnson heaped praise for Burden during OTAs, saying, “I’m buying Luther Burden stock right now. He’s been extremely coachable.”
Earlier in the offseason, Johnson also had this to say about Burden: “[Luther] is exactly what we thought we were getting out of the draft last year…this guy loves football. If you took football away from him, I don’t know what he would want to do with himself.”
Fantasy Outlook for Burden and Loveland
There’s a lot of mouths to feed in Chicago’s offense, and it’s tricky to gauge just how impactful Luther Burden and Colston Loveland will be fantasy-wise.
ESPN’s Mike Clay provided his thoughts on both pass catchers’ outlook in 2026.
Loveland: “Believe it or not, Loveland actually paced Chicago with 105 targets, if we include the team’s two playoff games. The combination of Loveland’s draft capital, strong finish (in both usage and efficiency) and Johnson’s leadership suggests he’s a strong bet to emerge as a top fantasy tight end.”
Burden: “The most unknown commodity (but perhaps the most hyped) of this trio, Burden has only two career top-20 fantasy weeks at the position to his name. The 2025 second-round pick showed his upside as a rookie, delivering a couple of splash games and, more notably, elite efficiency, ranking in the top five among wide receivers in catch rate (77%), yards per target (10.8), RAC (7.3) and YPRR (2.9). Of course, that was on a small sample (61 targets), and he disappeared in the playoffs, totaling a 6-66-0 receiving line on 14 targets in two games. With DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus gone (the duo totaled 166 targets while playing ahead of Burden for all or most of 2025), Burden has a path to a big uptick in usage and perhaps a breakout season.”
The safer bet is definitely Loveland, especially since Burden has to share the WR targets with Odunze, Kalif Raymond, and Zavion Thomas, among others. Regardless, both Loveland and Burden are in store for a breakout 2026 campaign.
Bears TE Colston Loveland Doesn’t Hold Back on Luther Burden