The Chicago Bears won two games in a row before their Week 5 bye, giving them a 2-2 record heading into Week 6. Second-year wide receiver Rome Odunze has stolen the show to start the year and looks to have established himself as Caleb Williams’ favorite target.
Veteran receiver D.J. Moore is third on the team in targets, behind Odunze and Olamide Zaccheaus, who has settled in well since signing as a free agent in March. The Bears’ offense has flashed its elite potential at times this year, most notably in the team’s Week 3 demolition of the Dallas Cowboys.
However, two young stars haven’t made as big a splash as many had hoped to this point. Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland were both high draft picks, but have yet to break out in their rookie year. Should fantasy football managers buy now before both players take off, or will the rookies continue to disappoint moving forward?
Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland Off to Slow Starts in Chicago
Both Burden and Loveland were highly rated prospects entering the 2025 NFL Draft, and they were both taken with the first 39 picks back in April 2025. But while Burden’s fantasy ADP remained low, fantasy managers were willing to take a shot on Loveland as the 12th tight end off the board in drafts.
The former Michigan tight end was being drafted in the 10th round of fantasy drafts, with Burden leaving boards roughly five rounds later. Burden was considered one of the most talented wide receivers in the 2025 draft class, with many believing he should have been a first-round pick.
Read More: Colston Loveland Injury Update: What’s the Latest on the Bears TE, and Will He Play in Week 6?
However, heading into the team’s Week 5 bye, Burden was the WR75 overall, averaging 5.9 fantasy points per game. Of his 23.6 total fantasy points, 13.5 were scored on a single play in Week 3, a 65-yard touchdown against Dallas.
Loveland, meanwhile, hasn’t been seen since leaving the team’s Week 3 game early with a hip injury. Before that, the rookie had caught three of his six targets for 43 yards, averaging just two targets and one catch per game.
Are Bears Duo Burden and Loveland Buy-Low Targets Ahead of Potential Post-Bye Bump?
But while the start of their NFL careers has been disappointing, it has opened a potentially season-changing buy-low window for both players in fantasy. Much of fantasy football is educated guesswork, but some trends have been far more consistent than others.
While nothing is ever guaranteed, the post-bye rookie bump has been one of the more reliable trends over the past few years. With so many nuances to an NFL offense, teams have used bye weeks to get rookies up to speed with some of the finer details of the playbook, ahead of increased usage.
The table below features some of the most notable rookies of the past two seasons, next to their average fantasy points per game before and after their team’s bye week.
As you can see, the difference can be significant, and talented, highly-drafted rookies are therefore a great mid-season bet to make in fantasy. With Burden (10% rostered) and Loveland (26% rostered) widely available on waivers in redraft leagues, both rookies should be considered low-risk, high-reward buy-low opportunities.
Bears insider Ben Devine recently suggested that fans should expect to see more of the rookies after the team’s Week 5 bye. Chicago’s 33.25 pass attempts per game rank 13th in the NFL. The Bears average a touchdown on 6% of those passes, tied for the seventh-highest rate in the league, while only two teams have bettered their two touchdowns per game.
Factoring in their obvious talent, elite playcaller, and high draft capital, you will unlikely find two higher ceilings on waivers this week. If you’re off to a bad start or simply want to replace a roster clogger or two, Burden and Loveland are great options, and could become weekly starters before long.
