This WCG roundtable series was inspired by this Tweet from our guy Jacob, who gave six 2026 Chicago Bears superlatives for the offseason. We’re going to take them one by one, and we’ll give a couple two tree sentences for each.
This time, we gave our pick for the Bears player we predict to break out in 2026.
Jacob Infante: Luther Burden was already a top-10 receiver in the NFL in terms of YAC per catch and yards per route run as a rookie. As he continues to become more confident in the route concepts
of Ben Johnson’s offense, I think he’ll become a 1,000-yard receiver in 2026.
Sam Householder: Austin Booker – I think the Bears are putting a lot on him to step up with their lack of moves on the DL. I’m not saying it’s fair, and I’m not saying Booker is going to reach 8 or 9 sacks. I’m just saying the table is set for him.
Josh Sunderbruch: Jordan van den Berg – The defense needs players to step up, and he has that potential.
Erik Duerrwaechter: Luther Burden III – For the same reasons I mentioned with Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III also has a tremendous chance to stake his claim as a top receiver in the NFL. Unlike Rome Odunze, the pressure isn’t on Luther Burden III to be the difference maker, and instead, he can simply take advantage of the opportunities he’ll receive against coverages when defenders are focused more elsewhere. As we saw with Colston Loveland last season, Luther Burden III saw a big jump in production during the second half of last season. I feel that will only continue as he’s freed up to make plays all over the field.
Ryan Droste: Austin Booker – The Bears need a huge leap from their edge rushers this year, and I think Booker will answer the call. He looked really good in spurts last year, and I think this year he breaks out and helps solidify the pass rush. Plus, Green Bay hates him, and that’s always nice.
Donald Gooch: Austin Booker – He only played ten games and had two sacks eliminated by penalties. Projected over a full season with those sacks, Booker would have posted a 10+ sack season in 2025. I am extremely bullish on him, and if reports that he has added some good weight in the offseason are true, I expect Booker to be the undisputed RDE starter for the Bears on the back of an actual 10+ sack season in 2026.
Bryan Orenchuk: Rome Odunze – Largely forgotten after the breakout rookie seasons that Loveland, Burden III, and Monangai had, Rome was on a league-leading tear last season before injury. With Caleb fine-tuned a bit more and Rome healthy, I expect Odunze to be discussed in legit WR1 conversations league-wide after this year.
Jeff Berckes: What does it mean to truly “breakout”? I’m not sure, but I’ll say this – by the end of the season, Colston Loveland will be widely considered a top 3 TE. He’s going to be a superstar.
Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.: Austin Booker made a jump last season after learning how to string some pass-rush moves together, and I expect another jump for the 23-year-old in 2o26.
“He’s another one that missed some time last year,” head coach ben Johnson said of Booker, “and I think the more the more time on task we have (as a) coaching staff, how we’re coaching things, I think it’s just going to add up. He’s still a young player. He’s still developing. His body’s changed since he came in the building a year ago, from where we ended the season, even until when he came back in for the spring program, he continues to add more mass. Stronger player, gets smarter as we go and I think the coaching is really going to be conducive to his style of play as well.
Who is your pick for the Bears breakout candidate?
