Bears WR Luther Burden III is set to inherit one role that could send his value soaring in both the NFL and fantasy football
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson said he’s buying stock in wide receiver Luther Burden III earlier this offseason and one role he’s set to inherit should entice fantasy football managers to do the same ahead of the 2026 season.
The Chicago Bears, on paper, have one of the league’s most dangerous offensive arsenal but there’s a lot of worry about buying stock in this offense with so many mouths to feed and the amount of young play-makers in the spotlight.
After trading away DJ Moore, the Bears offense is fully turning over to Rome Odunze, Colston Loveland, and Luther Burden III. All three players are capable of being matchup nightmares any given week and how head coach Ben Johnson deploys them could get frustrating for some fantasy football managers.
Back in May, ESPN’s Mike Clay shared his stat projections for Chicago’s top weapons with Odunze going over 1,000 yards, Burden having 938 yards, while Loveland’s projection has him listed with 868 yards with another six TDs. Clearly, he believes all three players should be well fed and be able to produce high volume numbers in this offense.
In Burden’s case, there’s one area in which he can really breakout in Year 2 by inheriting an offensive role that would make him even more valuable in for the Bears and in fantasy.
How can the Chicago Bears use Luther Burden III as a more frequent red zone threat?
Going into his rookie season, it took time for Burden to earn trust within the offense from the coaching staff. They saw the play-making ability in practice and eventually started working in designed plays. Once injuries started limiting the starting trio, Burden got more and more involved. The one area he wasn’t as featured was inside the red zone.
Burden ran 231 routes for the Bears last season with only 28 routes coming inside the 20-yard-line. On such routes, Burden had just four targets and had zero touchdowns. Both of his touchdowns last season came off of explosive downfield plays. Clay views that area of the field as untapped potential to get Burden more opportunities for touchdowns in 2026.
“As noted earlier, players who score fewer than three touchdowns on 50-plus touches tend to see a boost in Year 2. Burden fits that bill (53 touches as a rookie) and, while he’s a near lock for more touches in Year 2, he’s going to need a big boost in usage near the goal line,” Clay wrote. “Burden handled only one end zone target and his 1.2 xTD ranked 115th among receivers during the regular season.”
Clay added that Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus “combined for nine TDs, 15 end zone targets” last season and both players are no longer on the team. That already opens a big role for Burden to inherit as the No. 2 wide receiver.
With his frame (6’0, 210 pounds), there’s no reason why Burden couldn’t involved closer to the goal line. He also has a knack for breaking tackles and fighting for extra yards, that paired with a team-push from behind can barrel him into the end zone more often. Plus Johnson would draw up some bubble and tunnel screens for Burden in those areas.
Ben Johnson is buying Luther Burden III stock right now and you should too
The main aspect of this is having trust from Johnson and the coaching staff. That played a major role in Burden’s slow start but it’s not going to be the case this year. Johnson is already on the record stating that he’s buying stock in Burden for the way he’s handled business this offseason.
I easily see Johnson cooking up some diabolical stuff for Burden to get the ball in his hands more often and put some points on the board. I side with Clay, Burden’s easily topping five touchdowns this season.
For fantasy football managers getting ready for upcoming drafts, keep that in mind. You should be buying Burden stock right now as well.