"Stud." That's how Ben Johnson described Chicago's Round 2 selection. With a diverse and deep group of exciting pass-catchers already on the roster, the Bears elected to add Burden with the 39th overall pick. During Johnson's four years in Detroit, the Lions transformed from a bottom-third offense into a Fantasy point print shop. In 2024, Johnson's Lions created more offensive plays and Fantasy points than any other. The Lions ranked 20th in Fantasy points in Dan Campbell's first season (without Johnson), and then proceeded to rank fifth, third, and first. The bottom of the range of outcomes for Burden involves little Fantasy production. He's probably the most likely to lose in the battle for targets between D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze and Colston Loveland. But what if that's not the case? What if Johnson's hand-picked receiver is featured in the slot in Year 1? Burden provides major upside after Round 10 of your Fantasy drafts but can just as equally be worth cutting from your bench in his rookie season.
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Fantasy News
Bears' Luther Burden: Two catches against Miami
Rotowire
Burden caught two of three targets for 29 yards in Sunday's 24-24 preseason tie against the Dolphins.
Burden was reasonably productive considering he played only the first half and the Bears didn't dress starting quarterback Caleb Williams. Burden could open the regular season as Chicago's No. 3 wide receiver behind DJ Moore and Rome Odunze if the rookie second-round pick beats out Olamide Zaccheaus and Devin Duvernay. Chicago's next preseason game will be this coming Sunday against the Bills.
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Bears' Luther Burden: Expected to play Sunday
Rotowire
Burden and fellow rookie Colston Loveland are expected to play in Sunday's preseason opener against the Dolphins, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Several of the Bears' offensive starters will be absent from Sunday's contest, including Caleb Williams, D'Andre Swift, DJ Moore, Rome Odunze and Cole Kmet. Per Briggs, Burden figures to see plenty of reps Sunday, and he'll operate as the WR1 with Moore and Odunze in street clothes.
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Bears' Luther Burden: Participating in team drills
Rotowire
Burden (hamstring) is taking part in team drills at Tuesday's practice, Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic reports.
Burden missed OTAs, minicamp, and the first four days of training camp due to a hamstring injury sustained during rookie minicamp back in May, but head coach Ben Johnson said the 39th overall pick in the 2025 Draft is ready to be eased into team drills "slowly but surely," per Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com. Johnson said the wideout is "a little behind right now," but it at least appears that Burden's health is no longer impeding his development. He still has plenty of time to display his playmaking abilities in training camp and the preseason, and to potentially push Olamide Zaccheaus for the No. 3 receiver role behind DJ Moore and Rome Odunze.
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Bears' Luther Burden: Could be ready soon
Rotowire
Bears coach Ben Johnson said Thursday that he hopes Burden (undisclosed) will be ready to practice in a few days, Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic reports.
Burden's soft-tissue injury from the offseason program lingered longer than the Bears expected, but they apparently remain optimistic he'll be available for the start of training camp. Once he's declared healthy, the 39th overall pick figures to compete with Olamide Zaccheaus for the No. 3 WR spot, behind returning starters DJ Moore and Rome Odunze.
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Bears' Luther Burden: Not practicing yet
Rotowire
Burden (undisclosed) didn't participate Wednesday in the first practice of training camp, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports.
The 39th overall pick avoided Chicago's pre-camp injury lists, suggesting he's expected to practice sooner than later. Burden missed OTA practices and June minicamp after suffering an unspecified soft-tissue injury in May. It's an unhappy start to his pro career, but he still has time to lock down the No. 3 WR job before Week 1, as he'll be competing with Olamide Zaccheaus (and maybe Devin Duvernay or Tyler Scott).
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Bears' Luther Burden: Bears add Round 2 wideout
Rotowire
The Bears selected Burden in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, 39th overall.
Burden (6-foot, 206 pounds) was a blue-chip recruit at Missouri who mostly followed through on expectations but still went into the NFL Draft with a somewhat uneven prospect profile. More specifically, Burden has demonstrated standout athleticism (4.41-second 40-yard dash) and was clearly a standout yards-after-catch threat throughout his three-year collegiate career, but Burden never conclusively demonstrated a skill set as a route runner, especially downfield. Burden has the wheels and hands to make a downfield impact, and it could turn out that his usage in the Missouri offense needlessly limited his route tree. Burden might primarily work from the slot in Chicago in the short term, if only because DJ Moore and Rome Odunze figure to claim most of the boundary snaps.
