For weeks, for reasons easily explained and not, it just never quite came to fruition. But over the last two games, Luther Burden has usurped the underachieving Olamide Zaccheaus as the Chicago Bears' No. 3 wide receiver.
Earlier this week, with Burden's growing involvement and rest of season outlook a big topic of conversation, head coach Ben Johnson did not mince words in praise of the rookie.
"You get what you earn. And I think he’s earned the increased snaps…He’s steadily climbed", Johnson said. "The route running detail that's shown up, the consistency in making sure that his alignments are right...he’s doing a real good job with that.”
It often takes some time for rookie skill position players to nail down all the nuances of their roles and perform at a level the coaching staff expects consistently. Burden is clearly there now, and the Bears' offense will be way better for it over the rest of the season.
Bears analyst makes bold declaration about Luther Burden
During his appearance on 670 The Score's "Rahimi, Harris and Grote" Thursday, Bears' analyst Clay Harbor went all-in to praise Burden.
"I see Luther Burden as the wide receiver with the biggest ceiling on this team", Harbor said. "I think he's a guy that's gonna continue to get the ball and be a playmaker for this offense."
Co-host Marshall Harris paused the conversation to ask Harbor the pertinent question after that declaration about Burden: "Bigger ceiling than Rome (Odunze)?"
Harbor then explained his reasoning.
"He's a better route runner than Rome Odunze, I'm sorry....It's the fact he's way more twitchy, he's more explosive, he's been catching the ball better." (Harbor did note Burden's drop against the Vikings in Week 11).
"Rome is a solid player, (but) Rome isn't an explosive, twitchy guy."
Harbor then went into how Burden was widely sold as strictly a slot receiver type during the run-up to April's draft, which was actually proven wrong if you looked deeper at his college resume at Missouri. Still, he has shown he can win on the outside, too. Harbor also pointed to a "you've got it or you don't" ability to transition to a dynamic after-the-catch role, which Burden clearly has.
As eye-opening as it was in the moment, Harbor's declaration about Burden compared to the rest of the Bears' wide receivers is not outrageous. It's also not a knock on Rome Odunze.
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Over the rest of the season, with nothing in the way, Burden is in line to have a full runway to prove Harbor right.