It took a long time for him to get going, but Chicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III ended up having a strong close to his rookie season in 2025.
Burden finished fourth on the team in receiving yards with 652 while adding 47 receptions and two touchdowns on a solid first season. Bears wide receiver coach Antwaan Randle El opened up about his second-year receiver and how 2026 will be different for Burden.
"He's a whole lot, man," Randle El said via Bears reporter Josh Buckhalter. "I can't even express it. Again, him having a full offseason. Gotta continue to keep him healthy so he doesn't have any issues. He's going to turn the page in relation to going to another level in terms of playing the wide receiver position."
"It was very impressive. We knew he had it in him. It was a matter of getting him the kind of unlock and wake up. He had a concussion I think it was and then he came back after that, he was a different dude. I was like 'Alright, come on now.' And he just kept getting better and kept getting better. Again, him having a full offseason, it's going to be big."
Luther Burden is poised for a strong 2026 season with the Bears
What held Burden back from reaching his full potential last year was that Bears head coach Ben Johnson kept calling screen passes for him and never really letting him go deep outside of the long touchdown catch he had in Week 3 against the Dallas Cowboys. It wasn't until Rome Odunze got hurt and was out that Bears fans saw the kind of receiver Burden can be.
The speed from Burden is what Bears fans were impressed by and expected to see from him, making him a solid wide receiver. His catch percentage was also much better than anyone else on the team, as he caught 47 of his 60 targets, good for 78.3%.
Burden's role is going to be very different in 2026 as he moves up as the number two guy at receiver with Odunze still holding strong at WR1. DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus are no longer on the team, so Burden can't be held back.
Read more: 4 Bears veterans that are due to let the fan base down in 2026
2026 feels like it's going to be the season where Bears fans truly find out what kind of receiver Burden is going to be in the NFL, as he is about to get unleashed by Johnson.
Add us as a preferred source on Google