Luther Burden III continues to be the talk of the town during Chicago Bears training camp and the hype is warranted
Chicago Bears second year wide receiver Luther Burden III has more momentum and hype going into the 2026 than almost any receiver in the NFL. It’s starting to feel like more than just praise for what’s to come.
The talk of the town all offseason around the Chicago Bears has been centered around second-year wide receiver Luther Burden III, who by all accounts has a rocket ship on his back going into his second season.
Players, coaches, general manager Ryan Poles, virtually everyone inside Halas Hall can’t stop talking about Burden and the leap he’s poised to take. The buzz around Chicago’s young pass-catcher has only intensified through the first days of training camp, and the early returns suggest the hype is warranted.
Bears’ process toward landing Luther Burden III wasn’t a simple one, but Chicago certainly lucked out
The Bears weren’t even supposed to draft this guy. The Bears had other targets in the second-round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and after missing out on every option they wanted, the Bears looked at the board and saw the best player available. Burden was an easy decision.
“Luther’s college tape was as good as anybody we’ve seen,” offensive coordinator Press Taylor told reporters on Thursday. “Being able to see that skillset come out is a lot of fun.”
Burden’s fall into the second-round just added more internal motivation for the young receiver, who talked about how he was going to make teams pay for passing on him. Yet, it did take some time for that to show up throughout his rookie year.
Burden had a slow offseason last year after dealing with a quad injury that forced him to miss time during the offseason program and extended into training camp. The talent was never in question. Getting him on the field and learning the offense was the struggle.
As a result, Chicago only used Burden as a spot receiver early in the regular season, deploying him on specific plays to generate explosives, such as his flea-flicker deep touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys. By Week 10, Burden got his legs under him and became familiar with the offense, to the point he became a player the Bears couldn’t take off the field and couldn’t stop targeting.
“He makes the first guy miss, every time,” quarterback Caleb Williams said, via the Up & Adams Show. “That’s his trait. He catches every thing, easy passes, hard passes, he’s a friendly receiver to the QB. His route running and things like that are super friendly. When you put the ball in his hands, he makes the first player miss quite often.”
Making the most of a wide-open opportunity
After the season, Burden’s talent was undeniable and the Bears made sure to open every door for Burden to break out in 2026. Chicago traded veteran wide receiver DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills, clearing a massive target share in the passing game for Burden to absorb.
“We all believe in Luther. The whole [organization], his teammates, me, coach, coaches,” Williams told reporters on Wednesday. “It’s up to us to put in the work. QB-WR. And it’s up to him to make sure he’s in the right spot.”
To Williams’ latter point, Burden understood it was up to him to really earn that role going into his second offseason. Burden was drawing strong praise throughout the offseason program for how locked in he was back at practice, to the point head coach Ben Johnson said he was “buying stock” in where his young wide receiver was headed.
“If there’s a guy that I’m really excited about, it’s Luther Burden just because of how much he’s grown from the day he walked in this building,” general manager Ryan Poles said on Tuesday. “I heard he was just texting and calling these quarterbacks just looking for an arm to throw to him every day of the week. The guy loves football, he’s passionate about it. He wants to help this team win, and he wants to be the absolute best receiver he can possibly be. You can feel the fire inside of him, and I’m excited to see that show up.”
Early returns after two days of training camp continue to show the hype is warranted
Wednesday’s first training camp practice was a slow paced session but it was reported that Burden got a ton of targets, inside and outside. That alone is a sign of how confident he is in the offense this time around at training camp and how he’s become a go-to target for his quarterback.
“You saw in the spring, he was one of those guys that you could see that skillset flourish,” Taylor added. “Now he’s not thinking quite as much. He’s able to just go out and react, play, not worry about where he’s standing or where he’s supposed to be when the ball’s snapped… You’re just seeing him play.”
Burden has been making the most of every opportunity heading into the 2026 season and set to be a high-volume player for this offense alongside Rome Odunze and tight end Colston Loveland. Burden’s breakout opportunity continues to be the worst-kept secret in Chicago. Everyone knows it, and nobody can keep their mouth shut about it.