Average football fans might not see it, but the Chicago Bears have some weapons on offense that could become great pickups in fantasy football.
Entering the 2025 season, there are several great candidates to pick from who could have great years from Rome Odunze to D.J. Moore to the tight ends in Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland. Chicago's second round pick Luther Burden III, though, could be a sleeper pick to breakout in fantasy in his first year.
Pro Football Focus writer Nathan Jahnke looked at five wide receivers entering the 2025 season who could be sleepers in fantasy football. Burden was named as he is a specialist in the slot.
"Burden was one of Missouri‘s top two wide receivers for the past three seasons. In 2023, he earned the third-highest PFF receiving grade among Power-Five receivers, behind Malik Nabers and Malik Washington but ahead of Marvin Harrison Jr. and Rome Odunze. That included a top-five yards-per-route-run figure that ranked just ahead of Ladd McConkey.
Burden spent his college career primarily playing out of the slot as a low-average-target-depth receiver. He joins a Chicago Bears team with D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze, who have spent most of their careers on the outside. Odunze played 33% of his snaps from the slot last season, while Moore has never logged more than 31% of his snaps from the slot.
It is difficult to trust a wide receiver, for fantasy purposes, if they are playing in the slot only. Burden would need to beat out Odunze, who was a top-10 pick but underperformed as a rookie and was drafted by the past regime."
How good can Burden become in 2025?
Burden was electric at Missouri as he was selected to the first-team All-SEC team two years in a row and was an All-American in 2023. Last year was a down year for him, but he still managed to grab 61 passes for 676 yards and six touchdowns.
His 4.41 40-yard dash time showcases his speed and what he could mean to the Bears' offense. Odunze and Moore will play on the outside with Burden in the slot. Burden will have to compete with veteran receiver Olamide Zaccheaus to start in the slot, but Burden should still win that job.
The only concern for Burden entering training camp has been his soft tissue injury that kept him out of offseason workouts. He's expected to be back for training camp, but will he be 100% by the time the season starts is the big question.
Moore and Odunze will get all the attention from defenders in Bears head coach Ben Johnson's offense, but Burden could sneak in for some big plays. Burden is great with YAC yards and can use his speed to pick up extra yards by getting past defenders.
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This Bears' offense was missing that last year, and Burden fills a void that could make it easy for fantasy owners to take a risk on the rookie.