In April, the Chicago Bears left no doubt about how they are approaching their immediate future: score in bunches. They drafted Caleb Williams a year ago. They brought in Colston Loveland with the 10th overall pick this year before doubling down on the pass catcher upgrade with Missouri’s Luther Burden III with the 39th selection.
Clearly, this team wants to give Williams every chance to succeed at a high level in his second season, and it’s our job to forecast just how much of a role they will put on the shoulders of their newest high-pedigree receiver.
Luther Burden III’s Fantasy Outlook
I’ll address rookie tight ends in the Loveland profile, but the learning curve for the receiver position hasn’t proven prohibitive for the select few who are truly ready for the professional game.
Last season alone, we saw three first-year wideouts average north of 15 points per game, and none of them were the WR ranked highest in the class by most (Malik Nabers was WR6, Brian Thomas Jr. was WR11, and Ladd McConkey was WR16). In four of the past five seasons, we’ve seen multiple players reach that threshold, and Burden, as the fifth receiver taken in the 2025 draft, could be next in line regarding immediate success.
Screw it, Luther Burden highlights pic.twitter.com/BFw5WHlIf2
— Harrison Graham (@HGrahamNFL) July 31, 2025
I’m not worried about Burden’s skill set, which is why I’ve penciled him in as a top-50 receiver. His athletic profile is elite, and his ability to catch the ball away from his body projects very well at the professional level.
In college, he could stretch the field and pick up yardage in mass with the ball in his hands. Can he do both from the jump against NFL-level competition?
That remains to be seen, but having multiple outs is undoubtedly a positive. Suppose you’re willing to bet on Burden in a redraft setting (it should go without saying that he’s a hot commodity in dynasty formats, as he gets the rare opportunity to develop alongside a quarterback who is doing the same). In that case, you must be confident that he can earn volume.
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In 2024, DJ Moore reached double figures in PPR points 13 times, and all other Chicago receivers totaled nine such games. If we take for granted that Moore will be the top target earner in this offense, the throughline for consistent production is a little thin unless Williams truly develops into a top-10 pocket passer in the sport.
On the plus side, Keenan Allen is no longer in the mix, and he was responsible for five of the top-10 Bear WR games a year ago. I’m confident that Burden is capable of producing at a high level. Still, I fear his season-end stat line will look more valuable than what he realistically provides fantasy managers with.
Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Burden’s raw ability will overwhelm from the jump and allow him to emerge as a weekly option in all formats. More likely, I believe, he will be a random number generator you hope to get right when pressed to plug him in.
Dan Fornek’s Luther Burden III Fantasy Projection
Luther Burden III was a challenging prospect to figure out through the draft cycle this offseason. Burden dominated during his sophomore season at Missouri in 2023, catching 86 passes for 1,212 yards and seven touchdowns. However, he took a massive step back in his final season, catching just 61 passes for 676 yards and nine touchdowns.
Burden was a playmaker in college thanks to his explosiveness and elusiveness in open space. His strong NFL Combine performance (4.41 40-yard dash at 6-foot-0, 206 pounds) reinforced that idea. The Chicago Bears believed in his talent, selecting him with the 39th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
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The landing spot has serious boom-or-bust potential. On one hand, Burden will play his rookie season with 2024 first overall pick Caleb Williams and in new head coach Ben Johnson’s offense. Johnson is a master play caller at scheming situations for his players to succeed, and Burden has the skillset to dominate in open spaces. On the other hand, Chicago’s got an extremely crowded pass-catching group with D.J. Moore, 2024 first-round pick Rome Odunze and 2025 first-round pick Colston Loveland. Burden could be used as a gadget player early in his career, which is not a very lucrative role in fantasy.
Still, Burden has the potential to see a larger role in an offense we haven’t seen before. A hamstring injury delayed his start to training camp, but since he entered the lineup, he has been moving all over the formation and making big plays down the field. Burden is the ideal boom-or-bust bench pick in the late rounds that could pay huge dividends as long as fantasy managers are patient with him early in the season.
