All offseason long, plenty of experts have debated which of the Chicago Bears' top receiving threats is going to rise above the rest.
Whether we're in the fantasy football realm or the real world, you hear, see and read it everywhere. It's one of the more fun topics to discuss when talking about this Bears team.
After all, the Bears have three exceptional receiving threats in Rome Odunze, Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III. All of them are talented in their own right, with unique skill sets that help make this offense a potentially-historic unit.
And it's on the shoulders of Caleb Williams to make it all happen.
Now, I won't list every single expert and each one of their takes. Just know, it's been a popular discussion to try and argue why one of Odunze, Burden or Loveland will be the "best" of the bunch in terms of overall production; which one will lead the way.
But, I'm here to tell you: as fun as that debate is, all of the experts and fans debating one over the other are dead wrong.
And that's a good thing.
Experts trying to argue one Bears pass catcher over another are going to be in for a real treat in 2026
In a recent press conference, Johnson very specifically praised Odunze.
"That inspires me not to want to get him the football, but NEED to get him the football," Johnson said of Odunze and him being "Mr. Consistency."
The biggest thing Odunze's critics have to say about last season, other than his foot injury, is that the "consistency" wasn't there. He caught only 31 of 59 targets from Caleb Williams in weeks 1-8. But he still scored five touchdowns ( in the first four weeks) and held a whopping 24 percent target share during that time.
Don't underestimate the target share factor, either. That proves exactly whom the quarterback trusts most over a given period of time. And, for context, anything over 20 percent is notable.
Rome Odunze Weeks 1-8 2025
Target Share | Yards | TD |
|---|---|---|
23.9% | 473 | 5 |
This year, the connection between Odunze and Williams looks a lot better. There's much more comfort, all-around, in this sytem. You can bet the catch and completion percentages will go up.
And, this is only proof that Odunze can lead the Bears in targets. He can be the WR1, which would give life to all of the folks out there who think Odunze is going to be the leader of the pack.
Not so fast.
In that same breath, above, Johnson also took time to praise Loveland in a big way, which gives the Loveland truthers even more fuel.
"He's been Mr. Steady, much like Rome. These guys are really phenomenal athletes, and he's a really hard matchup for any safety or linebacker in this league that wants to cover him in man, that's a tough ask. He's too big for nickel corners to cover if that's the matchup that dictates itself. I'm really pleased with where he's at. He's a huge, huge asset for us."
Here's a perfect example of what Loveland can do when he's the focal point of the passing game.
Colston Loveland Weeks 15-18 of 2025
Target Share | Yards | TD |
|---|---|---|
28.5% | 298 | 2 |
Nearly 30 percent of Williams' passes over his final four regular games went to Loveland.
Oh, and by the way, Loveland also drew an unbelievable 27 targets between the two playoff games.
Can Loveland be the focal point? Absolutely.
And then, there's Burden, who has been the new hotness, both in fantasy and the real world. Going back to May, Johnson has been saying things like this about his Year 2 wide receiver:
"I'm buying Luther Burden stock right now. He's been electric ... I love how in Phase 2, he was finishing every single rep he took."
Plenty of folks are picking Burden to be the team's top receiver, and they wouldn't be completely wrong.
Luther Burden's final 6 games of 2025
Targets | Receptions | Yards |
|---|---|---|
37 | 28 | 403 |
Sure, Odunze was out with an injury. But, at the same time, we saw Loveland's ascension and D.J. Moore was still part of the picture (but not really).
Burden showed that he was more than capable of taking over when given the opportunity, which is again why so many experts are picking him to lead the way in 2026.
The moral of this entire story, though, is this: everybody is wrong and Ben Johnson is right.
Johnson gushes over these three guys on a regular basis, talking about how he needs to get them the football.
That's what he's going to do.
In all likelihood, this coming season is going to see the three of them all finish very closely in terms of receptions, yards, and touchdowns. Every one of them will have their big games or stretches during the season.
But not one single guy out of these three is going to be far and away above the others. That's not going to happen. Johnson is going to get all of them the football regularly, and Williams is going to make them pay.
That's how this works.
And, to be frank, it's a good thing that so many experts are wrong. They can argue for one over the other two, all day long, and with plenty of good reasoning.
That just goes to show how much Ben Johnson has in his arsenal. This Bears offense will be special. It's going to be spectacular. It's going to be high-flying and explosive, and Odunze, Burden, and Loveland will all reap the rewards in a massive way.
Read more: 4 burning questions Bears fans have after latest Kyler Gordon video
Not one will be superior to the other. No, all three of them are going to be phenomenal in their own right.
Add us as a preferred source on Google