Considering that Ben Johnson’s 2025 offense didn’t feature one wide receiver over the others, I went back and forth on having one appear on this year’s 10 Most Important Chicago Bears list. But Luther Burden III has a chance to be really special, so I had to include him.
At his NFL Combine, he only did the 40-yard dash and positional drills, so he didn’t qualify for an overall RAS score, but watching him play, I think it’s safe to assume his agility testing would have all been charted in the green.
He definitely plays to his 4.41 forty, but his quickness, acceleration, and stop-and-cut ability are Devin Hester-esque. He looks different with the ball in his hands, so I would expect the Bears to scheme him more touches this season and give the opposition something to think about.
Adding to Burden’s importance this year is the departure of DJ Moore, who was the Bears’ top wideout all three years he was in the Windy City. The Bears used Moore in a variety of ways, including as a running back, and I could envision Burden lining up at tailback for a few reps a game.
His 2.7 yards per route run, which is a Next Gen Stat to show how productive a receiver is on a per-route-run basis, was third in the entire NFL behind a couple of first-team All Pros: the Los Angeles Rams’ Puka Nacua (3.9) and the Seattle Seahawks’ Jaxon Smith-Njigba (3.7).
That’s some decent company.
Burden clearly has special traits, but his attitude and work ethic could elevate him to the upper echelon of receivers in his second year, and his head coach couldn’t be more pleased with how he’s looked so far.
“I’m buying Luther Burden stock right now, just how he’s approached his offseason,” Ben Johnson said on May 28. “It’s been electric. He showed up yesterday, had numerous explosive plays. I loved how in Phase 2 he was finishing every single rep that he took, and that really translated over to yesterday as well. So, he’s in a really good spot.”
As a rookie, Burden had 47 receptions, 652 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 6 runs for 37 yards, while playing 402 snaps on offense, which among the wide receivers was behind Moore (979), Rome Odunze (733), and Olamide Zaccheaus (580).
Burden may see his snap count double now that he’s starting, which contributes to him being a trendy pick around the league as a breakout star.
“He’s still developing and growing his route tree,” Johnson continued. “He’s been extremely coachable, so I’m really happy with him. He looks like he’s playing at a different speed right now. You knew he had it in him — he’s a 4.4 guy — and yet those timed speeds don’t always translate to real speed, football speed, the game tape. I think we’re starting to see that now. He’s not thinking as much. He knows what we’re trying to do. So you kind of see that with a number of these guys, as I alluded to before, that have been here for a little bit of time now — the game’s slowing for them, and it allows their abilities to come out.”
The Bears had a top-10 offense a year ago, and that was with Burden, their most dynamic playmaker, missing much of the offseason program due to an injury and averaging just 27 snaps per game during the season.
How big a jump in production to expect Burden to make in 2026?
