Rome Odunze is going to enter the upcoming campaign as the Chicago Bears‘ No. 1 wide receiver in both name and position, but it may well be Luther Burden III who finishes the 2026 season with that moniker.
Burden’s exploits down the stretch of last season are well documented within the analytics community, while head coach Ben Johnson has not spoken more highly of any player on either side of the football during multiple media sessions this offseason.
The No. 39 overall pick in Round 2 of the 2025 NFL draft finished his rookie year with 47 catches for 652 yards and two TDs, and Ryan Gosling of Pro Football Network is predicting a massive jump in statistical production for Burden in Year 2.
“Luther Burden III is the cleanest 1,000-yard bet on the board for 2026,” Gosling wrote on Thursday, July 18. “Buried early on the depth chart, [Burden] still finished third in the league in yards per route run, per Next Gen Stats.”
All Luther Burden’s Indicators Pointing Upward Heading into Next Season
GettyChicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III.
Burden jumped off the screen down the second half of the campaign, but he jumped off the page in even more animated fashion once the season was finished.
Warren Sharp laid out just how dominant Burden was with regards to the rest of the Bears’ pass-catchers.
“Luther Burden’s stats last year among Bears WRs/TEs:
- +0.52 EPA/target (#1)
- 56% success (#1)
- 10.9 yds/target (#1)
- 7.2 YAC/reception (#1)
- 86% accurate target catch rate (#1)
- 78% overall catch rate (#1)
- 25% target/route (#1)
He ranked #1 on the Bears in EVERY. SINGLE. METRIC,” Sharp posted to X in March.
Every factor around burden is pointing upward, which Johnson noted in an interview in late May.
“I’m buying Luther Burden stock right now, just how he’s approached his offseason,” Johnson said in late May. “It’s been electric.”
Colston Loveland Also Poised for Big Jump in Year 2 After Quality Rookie Campaign
GettyChicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland.
Chicago’s decision to trade DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills should clear up more targets for Burden in 2026. Odunze’s foot injury could also play a role in Burden getting more than the 60 targets he saw in 15 games played last season.
Odunze made comments about his foot in early June that raised red flags around the league.
“This is my new normal. And it’s not from a standpoint that I’m always in pain, but the way my foot broke [there are] callouses in there that creates a different type of foot structure with those bones — different types of things that kind of shift things around,” Odunze said. “I don’t think that’s anything that’s going to prohibit me from making plays. But I feel like with the break, it’s just like when you tear your [ACL], it’s never really back to normal.”
If Odunze deals with lingering health issues, tight end Colston Loveland is liable to see an increased workload alongside Burden.
Loveland was one of the best tight ends football over the second half of last year, finishing with 58 catches for 713 yards and six scores on 82 targets. Like Burden, Loveland was also exceptional from an analytics perspective.
“#Bears rookie TE Colston Loveland among tight ends:
- 58 catches (13th)
- 713 receiving yards (9th)
- 6 touchdowns (T-8th)
- 36 first downs (T-9th)
- 83.1 PFSN TE Impact (6th)
- 81.1 PFF grade (6th)
- 0.591 EPA per target (2nd)
Already a top-10 tight end as a rookie,” Jacob Infante of Windy City Gridiron wrote on X in January.
Loveland, a first-round pick in the same draft the Bears took Burden, recognizes the talent in his counterpart and spoke to it directly last week.
“He’s the truth, man,” Loveland said. “Nothing but the truth.”
Bears WR Luther Burden III Predicted to Hit Major Milestone in Year 2