If all goes according to plan, then the Chicago Bears offense under new head coach Ben Johnson will be operating on a different level than fans in the Windy City have seen before. This will not only be because Johnson is one of the league’s best play-callers, or because Caleb Williams makes what is an expected year one to year two leap… it will be because around Williams is a dynamic cast of weapons that includes rookie wideout Luther Burden III.
As things stand right now, Burden is the fourth receiver on the depth chart behind DJ Moore, Rome Odunze and Olamide Zaccheaus, whose connection with Williams has been something of a revelation this summer. Factoring in Ben Johnson’s willingness to operate in 12 personnel, plus the talent that the Bears have at tight end with Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland, a hefty target share is by no means a guarantee for Luther Burden.
But that doesn’t mean that Burden won’t end up being a serious headache for opposing defenses to gameplan against, especially if he gets the ball in his hands with space in the open field.
“If I get too much space, there’s going to be a problem,” Burden said confidently after Sunday’s dominant 38-0 preseason win versus Buffalo.
Bears Coaching Staff Knows What They Have in Luther Burden III
The fact that the Bears ended up selecting a player with Luther Burden’s upside in the 2nd Round of the NFL Draft came as a huge surprise back in April, but it also highlighted how the rest of the NFL saw Burden as a prospect.
Sure, Burden is dynamic with the ball in his hands and he cut his teeth in the best conference in college football after ending his high school career as one of the top ten prospects in the country… but his production dipped from his sophomore to junior year, and his skillset isn’t overly refined.
Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times noted that while at Missouri, Burden wasn’t asked to master a complicated route tree, and that three-quarters of his catches came within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. This made Burden’s absence in during a large chunk of the offseason even more problematic. His inability to see the field only compounded his struggles with getting a grasp of the Bears playbook.
As a result, there have been some chemistry issues with Burden and Chicago’s quarterbacks.
“The quarterback wants to know that you’re going to be where you’re supposed to be when you’re supposed to be there,” Bears receivers coach Antwaan Randle El said.
But in the same breath, Randle El knows that if the Bears can get the ball in Burden’s hands, no matter how stunted his growth may be, he’ll make the most of the opportunities.
“He gets the ball in his hands, and he lights up,” receivers coach Antwaan Randle El said. “That’s what I loved about his film.”
Bears Offense Flashes Potential in Preseason Win over Bills
Bears fans had to wait until the second week of preseason to see the first-team offense take the field, but it ended up being well worth the wait. Handicapped by having to start their first drive of the game backed up at their own 7-yard line, the Bears marched down the field and scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the game, and then poured in 31 more points the rest of the way.
Burden and fellow draft pick Colston Loveland each flashed enough to make it look as though the Bears had hit on each of those selections, but the biggest development was the command Caleb Williams had of the offense that he’d been struggling to master throughout the first few weeks of training camp.
“To a month ago, I think I’ve grown a lot,” Williams said after the win over Buffalo, according to Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “Now, my mindset is to keep growing. It’s been my mindset since I’ve been a little child, to keep growing. Where I see myself, I think the idea is to be able to handle every single thing that I can and everything that Ben says I should be able to handle.
After the win, Williams talked about the importance of having such a solid outing at this juncture of the preseason.
“I think it sets a tone for us as a team. I think it sets a tone for how we expect ourselves to play, go out there, perform. So yeah, it was extremely important.”
Luther Burden III Plans to Create Significant ‘Problems’ for Bears Opponents