Ben Johnson is helping Luther Burden III get closer to becoming the latest Bears rookie to breakout and he’s the key to a playoff push
The rookie second-round pick is getting closer to having his big opportunity.
There’s no time to be complacent if you’re the Chicago Bears after improving to 6-3 on the season following Sunday’s win over the New York Giants.
The Week 10 showing was a rough one for Chicago but the outcome was still ideal at the end of the day. The good news is that there’s clear areas of improvement on both sides of the ball with easy opportunities to capitalize on to find improvement.
On the offensive side of the ball, drops plagued the Bears on Sunday, forcing quarterback Caleb Williams to literally do it himself. While head coach Ben Johnson noted the drops weren’t a major concern after one game, it still showed a glaring weakness on the roster that can be addressed with a simple personnel adjustment.
Stars are starting to align for Luther Burden III to have his breakout opportunity for the Bears
On Sunday, the Bears got rookie second-round pick Luther Burden III back in the fold after missing Week 9 due to a concussion. Burden ended up playing a season-high 32 snaps against the Giants with a season-high 20 routes, although DJ Moore briefly had to leave the game due to injury.
Regardless, it was clear watching the tape that Burden was the team’s most reliable pass catcher at the position and the second-most productive behind Rome Odunze, who led the team with 50 offensive snaps with 34 routes on Sunday for context.
“It’s a trust level between the coaches and the player. It’s a trust level between the quarterback and the receiver. It continues to ascend,” Johnson said of Burden on Monday. “He’s been very productive when we’ve been able to get the ball in his hands. There’s a strong argument that we should get it to him more.”
Burden was the primary read on all three of his targets in that game, hauling in all three passes for 51 receiving yards. The designs of all three plays were vastly different as well.
Burden’s first target of the game came on second-and-short with Johnson dialing up a play-action shot play that turned into a 15-yard completion for the offense. His second target was another designed look with Burden running a quick out and turning it into a nine-yard gain after the catch. His biggest play came on the third and final target, a 20-yard stop that turned into a 27-yard play.
Burden has now caught 16 of his 18 targets (highest catch percentage among all Bears pass catchers) and is averaging 13.9 yards per reception this season. Nearly every time he sees the field in limited fashion, Johnson has a designed play going his way and he’s making something happen after the catch.
In the meantime, Olamide Zaccheaus has been struggling with the drops, well before Week 10, yet played 37 offensive snaps with 27 routes. And, even after missing time, Moore still played more snaps and ran more routes than Burden while having four targets and zero receptions.
It’s clear Burden has earned more of a role in this offense. He’s got reliable hands, runs crisp routes with full effort, has the ability to block, and can make explosive plays before and after the catch.
Unlocking him is what can really turn the dial up on this offense and doing so during a tough upcoming stretch can give Chicago the edge the team needs to continue fueling a playoff push.
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