The Path to a WR1 Season: Luther Burden III (Fantasy Football)

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Head Coach Ben Johnson ’s first year in Chicago was a smashing success. The offense looked unlocked, the young talent progressed as you’d hope, and the Bears made a strong playoff push, losing in an overtime thriller to a veteran-laden Rams squad in the Divisional Round. The Bears appeared to hit the big time on both of their early-round offensive weapons in the 2025 draft as well, with TE Colston Loveland (pick 1.10) showing immense upside down the stretch and in the playoffs, and WR Luther Burden III (pick 2.07) flashing elite playmaking skills. Coupled with 2024 first-round pick Rome Odunze and veteran star DJ Moore , the Bears’ passing offense now had an embarrassment of riches. Enter the 2026 offseason. DJ Moore was traded to the Buffalo Bills , and now the target share is consolidated enough to see superstar potential in a new “Big 3” pass-catching trio. The biggest question is, “Who will take over as the Alpha receiving option in this group?” There is consensus in the fantasy industry that Colston Loveland will be an elite TE option, so that leaves us wondering which WR, between Odunze and Burden, will put up WR1 numbers. The truth is, they could both do it. But I’m here to make the case that it will be Luther Burden III who is the Bears WR you want in fantasy this year. Editor’s Note: This profile is part of our annual Path to a Fantasy WR1 Season series . The goal is to determine the likelihood of a top-12 fantasy season from a number of off-the-wall candidates. For our methodology and an outline of the process, make sure you read the 2026 Path to WR1 Series Primer . Find out the full statistical projections for the Footballers Consensus WR1s in the Ultimate Draft Kit . 2025 Season Recap Coming into the NFL, there were some concerns about Burden’s dip in collegiate production from his explosive 2023 campaign to a less-inspiring 2024 season. This undoubtedly led to him dropping out of the first round of the 2025 NFL draft. I chalked most of it up to SEC defenses game-planning to try and stop him, poor QB play from Brady Cook , and a resulting lack of motivation (most concerning) by Burden. Sometimes, I swear you can tell when elite college players are “just trying to survive” before entering the NFL. You could say it all started with CMC’s bowl game opt-out. I can see the argument either way, but we aren’t here to debate that today. Burden’s rookie season took on a classic rookie arc: He dealt with injuries during OTAs; he flashed a couple of big plays but struggled to carve out playing time early; and then he had the one monster game (Week 17 against SF – 8/138/1 TD on 9 targets) where we got to see exactly what he’s capable of. He finished the season as WR47 overall. RECEIVING RUSHING PLAYER PTS PTS/G GP TGT REC CTCH% YDS Y/C TD ATT YDS Y/A TD FUM LUTHER BURDEN III 104.4 6.96 15 60 47 78% 652 13.9 2 6 37 6.2 0 0 Here's 2025 Luther Burden highlights to cleanse your feed pic.twitter.com/a1veP2hELq — Fantasy Footballers (@TheFFBallers) March 19, 2026 The Path for 2026 In 2025, Burden didn’t crack 50% snap share until Week 12. From Weeks 12-18, Burden was WR22 in total points, despite missing Week 16. We were all frustrated as we watched Olamide Zaccheaus take on most of the WR3 duties during the first half of the season. Even as Burden took over the role, he was still behind Rome Odunze and DJ Moore in the WR rotation. With Moore traded to Buffalo, the WR target share should be split primarily between Odunze and Burden. On…