It's been an up-and-down rookie campaign for Chicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III, but many in the building have a lot of faith in him.
Burden is coming off one of the best games of the season against the New York Giants in Week 10, where he caught three passes for 51 yards. His biggest play came late in the fourth quarter when Bears quarterback Caleb Williams connected with Burden, but the rookie picked up an extra 10-15 yards by running over and dragging Giants defenders with him to get to the red zone. That would set up Williams' game-winning 17-yard touchdown run.
Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle was very complimentary towards Burden's efforts as the rookie is making the most of his opportunities. Doyle credited the work Burden is doing before and after gameday as part of his success.
“He does a lot of work behind the scenes with (Antwaan Randle El).”
Burden can end up being a special player for Chicago
This season, Burden has caught 16 passes for 222 yards and one touchdown. His best game came in Week 3 against the Dallas Cowboys, where he caught three passes for 101 yards and his first and only career touchdown.
The tough part about Burden's season is that the Bears have used him more as a wide receiver screen, and those haven't worked out well for him. He's had three games this year where he finished with negative yards and one other where he was in single digits in yards.
It has felt as though, over the last few weeks, the Bears have moved more away from that and are letting him run actual routes. Everyone has noticed how strong a route runner he is when given the chance to do it.
Another note on Doyle's comments is that it's not the first time wide receiver coach Randle-El got a shoutout for his work. Bears head coach Ben Johnson also complimented the coach for his work with talking with the team and how the team has responded well to it.
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After the recent struggles of Olamide Zaccheaus in the Giants game, there's a chance Burden will get more reps and targets from Williams, as he has proven himself to be a reliable receiver.