If you were a patient fantasy manager with the Chicago Bears' top two rookies last season, or if you were able to add one or both of them off the waiver wire at some point, you were rewarded handsomely. From Weeks 9-17, Colston Loveland was a top-10 fantasy tight end. From Weeks 14-17, Luther Burden was WR8 on a per-game basis in PPR scoring.
So the arrow is clearly pointing up for Loveland and Burden heading into Year 2. The targets vacated by the offseason trade of DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills fortify that sentiment, and wide receiver Rome Odunze shouldn't be forgotten after an injury-impacted 2025 season.
ESPN fantasy football analyst Mike Clay recently assessed how managers should prioritize Loveland, Burden and Odunze in drafts. They were placed in three categories, "safest play", "biggest risk" and "best value", with results of ESPN 10-team full PPR mock drafts and Clay's rankings as reference points.
Bears' top pass catchers put into pre-draft categories by Mike Clay
Clay chose Loveland, his No. 3 ranked tight end with an ESPN staff ADP of 45th overall, as his safest play among the Bears' top three pass catchers.
'Loveland, the No. 10 overall pick of the 2025 draft, enters his second NFL season as one of the hottest breakout candidates in the game. The Michigan product was brought along slowly to begin his rookie season, but he made a big leap down the stretch, averaging 12.0 targets (10-plus in each) and 20.0 fantasy points per game during his final four games. Believe it or not, Loveland actually paced Chicago with 105 targets, if we include the team's two playoff games. The combination of Loveland's draft capital, strong finish (in both usage and efficiency) and Johnson's leadership suggests he's a strong bet to emerge as a top fantasy tight end. He's not especially cheap, but he often can be had 20 or so picks after top-tier tight ends Brock Bowers and Trey McBride-- players he certainly could rival as soon as this season. He's worth consideration at cost."
Depending on league size, using a fourth or fifth-round pick on Loveland carries a level of risk. But the upside, which is legitimately finishing as the TE1 this year, is impossible to ignore.
In the "biggest risk" category, Clay had Burden, the WR28 in his rankings with an ESPN staff ADP of 57th overall and WR27.
"The most unknown commodity (but perhaps the most hyped) of this trio, Burden has only two career top-20 fantasy weeks at the position to his name. The 2025 second-round pick showed his upside as a rookie, delivering a couple of splash games and, more notably, elite efficiency, ranking in the top five among wide receivers in catch rate (77%), yards per target (10.8), RAC (7.3) and YPRR (2.9). Of course, that was on a small sample (61 targets), and he disappeared in the playoffs, totaling a 6-66-0 receiving line on 14 targets in two games. With DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus gone (the duo totaled 166 targets while playing ahead of Burden for all or most of 2025), Burden has a path to a big uptick in usage and perhaps a breakout season. Drafters have taken notice, however, as he is being selected as early as the fourth round in 12-team best ball drafts. The hype has obviously led to an expensive draft-day cost and makes the unproven Burden a risky investment."
Burden has a ton of buzz around him right now, and head coach Ben Johnson did nothing to curb it with his recent comments. Of course that buzz also puts helium in Burden's fantasy ADP, which is in WR2 range in full (WR21) and 0.5-point (WR22) PPR right now, and invites skepticism he can pay that investment off.
Which leaves Odunze, Clay's WR26 with an ESPN staff ADP of WR28 and No. 58 overall, as the best value pick among Bears' pass catchers.
"Everyone wants a piece of Burden, but don't overlook Odunze -- the No. 9 overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft. The 6-foot-3 perimeter target appeared on the verge of a breakout early last season (five TDs and 19.9 fantasy PPG during his first four games), but a dip in production (one TD and 7.9 PPG during his final 10 games) and five missed games due to injury derailed his campaign. The good news is that Odunze is heavily targeted by Caleb Williams, is used often near the goal line (ninth in the NFL with 24 end zone targets since he was drafted), is only entering his prime at age 24 and, same as Burden, will benefit from Moore's and Zaccheaus' vacated targets. Odunze's connection with Williams will need to improve (48% catch rate last season), but we've already seen him deliver at a high level and he's often selected after the less-proven Burden in 2026 fantasy drafts."
Clay did his analysis before Odunze said what he said about the foot injury that cost him five games last season. While it's easy for those words to get overblown, it's also possible fantasy managers start getting hesitant to draft him at his current ADP, and a potential discount gets better. Odunze's broad ADP in full and 0.5-point PPR is in the mid-WR3 range right now.
Read more: Rome Odunze invites concern with candid words about impact of his foot injury
To varying degrees, the Bears' top three pass catchers absolutely have the attention of fantasy managers heading into 2026. In terms of the draft categories Clay put them in, all three fit perfectly in the one they're in.
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