The Chicago Bears came away from the 2025 NFL Draft with an even more-loaded offensive arsenal for quarterback Caleb Williams.
After drafting Michigan tight end Colston Loveland in the first round, the Bears somehow wound up with the explosive Luther Burden III out of Missouri. As a wide receiver who should have gone in the first round, the Bears got an absolute steal in Burden.
Head coach Ben Johnson is already excited about the addition of Burden to this offense which already features the likes of DJ Moore and Rome Odunze, along with Cole Kmet and Loveland. The firepower is oozing out of Halas Hall at this point.
While the draft was going on, though, the Bears made another addition at the wide receiver position when they signed veteran Miles Boykin on Friday.
Luther Burden's arrival puts pressure on newly-signed Miles Boykin, among others
Boykin, a third-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens back in 2019, has only caught a grand total of six passes over the past three seasons. His best year came as a second-year pro when he caught four touchdowns in Baltimore.
Before signing Boykin or drafting Burden, the Bears' wide receiver room featured Moore, Odunze, Olamide Zaccheaus, Devin Duvernay and Tyler Scott as the top five. But then, Burden's arrival clearly pushed Scott down the list.
And now, with Boykin on the roster, Burden's arrival essentially puts the pressure on he and Scott. If the Bears end up keeping six wide receivers, chances are, that sixth spot is going to be up to either Boykin or Scott.
It is only April, but if I had to predict right now, I'd say the Bears' wide receiver room looks like this come Week 1:
DJ Moore
Rome Odunze
Luther Burden III
Olamide Zaccheaus
Devin Duvernay
Tyler Scott
The Bears spent a fourth-round pick on Scott just two years ago, so they might want to hang onto him and see if there's any third-year leap the former Cincinnati star could take. The Boykin signing was a minimal one and didn't come nearly as early as Zaccheaus or Duvernay did.
The latter two players are also better than Boykin, with Duvernay adding a special teams zest to his skill set. Boykin's days just began in Chicago, but they are already numbered.