Chicago’s DJ Moore trade just put an absolute rocket ship on Luther Burden III going into his second season with the Bears
The runway is open for Luther Burden III to take off as the top weapon for the Chicago Bears’ offense.
The Chicago Bears made their first big trade of the offseason by sending veteran wide receiver DJ Moore and a 2026 fifth-round pick to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick.
It was a tough decision for the Bears to ultimately make, but the rewards far out-weigh the loss in this situation. The Bears not only got a Top-75 pick in return, they also saved $16.5 million in 2026 cap space by moving off his massive contract.
The real reward is opening up the offense for the younger players to continue rising and a huge opportunity awaits Luther Burden III going into his second season with the team.
Luther Burden III is the clear winner from the Bears’ decision to trade DJ Moore
Losing Moore is going to leave massive shoes to fill for the Bears but the team already has the right player waiting for this opportunity after drafting Burden in the second-round of the 2025 NFL Draft. It was a luxury pick for Chicago at the time to add another wide receiver to the offense but now that decision looks like a big-brain move.
Burden is the obvious player to step into the “Z” role for this offense and earn a higher role in the passing game. It took a while for Burden to get up to speed in head coach Ben Johnson’s offense after missing basically the entire offseason due to a hamstring injury, but once he got rolling, you could tell the Bears found a special player that could be a featured play-maker.
“It’s a problem for our opponents when you get the ball in his hands,” Bears quarterback Caleb Williams said of Burden last season. “Just giving him a shot, letting him go make plays, give him the best runner ball that I can so that he can go and be explosive and be the player that he is. That’s why we drafted him here.”
Burden capped off his rookie season with 47 receptions, 652 yards, and three touchdowns on just 60 targets. His 2.68 yards per route run ranked third among WRs with 40 targets, trailing only Puka Nacua (3.71) and Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba (3.62).
It’s simple, when you put the ball in Burden’s hands, great things happen more often than not. He’s got a dawg-mentality and constantly churns out extra yardage when he gets the football. He’s going to be an absolute nightmare in this new role alongside Rome Odunze and Colston Loveland.
It’s going to be exciting to see what Ben Johnson cooks up for Burden in 2026 and beyond. And it’s worth wondering what kind of other additions get made to the room after trading Moore.
Chicago Bears News
Full trade compensation for DJ Moore shows that Ryan Poles got a massive win by parting ways with the veteran wide receiver
It was a tough decision, but the rewards far outweigh the loss in this trade.
