Going into the 2026 season, the wide receivers on the Chicago Bears were all facing their own kind of pressure in some capacity.
Most of that pressure stems from DJ Moore being traded to the Buffalo Bills, leaving the unit among the youngest on the team. Chicago is leaning on guys like Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, and Jahdae Walker to step up in their second or third NFL seasons and be the main guys.
There's plenty of optimism about the unit with the untapped potential they bring to the table. It turns out they have answered the call so far, given how well they are doing on OTAs.
Bears' young wide receivers are shining bright in Week 2 of OTAs
Bears analyst Clay Harbor shared his big takeaways from Chicago's second OTA practice that was made available to the media. Harbor noted three young receivers and their performance in practice.
"Luther Burden looked good. Made a couple plays in tight coverage and continues to show up when he gets opportunities."
"Jahdae Walker flashed. Made a couple nice grabs, looked quick, confident, and natural catching the football."
"Zavion Thomas made a couple plays. It’s an uphill battle with Kalif Raymond and Jahdae Walker in that WR/returner competition, but he’s quick and had a nice catch today."
Everyone is all over the Burden buzz and buying stock in him performing well going into the 2026 season. He has been elevated to the WR2 role and looks poised to have a great season.
Walker is going to be competing with Thomas and Kalif Raymond for the WR3 job, but regardless should see an elevated role in the Bears' offense since Thomas will be more special teams. Last season, Walker didn't get to shine until catching two touchdowns in the last three weeks, including the game-tying score against the Green Bay Packers in Week 16 to force overtime.
Thomas might end up being featured in the offense more than Bears fans think, as he continues to impress in practice. Just the speed alone is enough for Bears head coach Ben Johnson to get Thomas involved in the offense more often.
Read more: Ravens insider "keeps coming back" to Baltimore calling Bears about veteran
The Bears' offense looks like it won't see any setbacks, even with a young group at receiver, as they are pacing to be one of the best in the NFL for a long time.
Add us as a preferred source on Google