Which Pass Catcher Should we Draft on the Chicago Bears?

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This weekend I released Part 1 of a series focused on ambiguous pass-catcher depth charts. If you missed it, please take a read through the below article in which I analyzed the performance of players in ambiguous pass-catcher rooms over the past five seasons, in order to decipher any potential trends that could guide us in choosing from among this year’s crop. I defined an “ambiguous pass-catcher depth chart” as a group of three or more wide receivers or tight ends on the same team, who all have an ADP between Rounds 3-10. To briefly summarize, these were the most important takeaways from the past data: Betting on pass catchers from ambiguous rooms is not a floor-raising endeavour, but it can produce a major ceiling. So bet on players you think have a path to that major ceiling rather than betting on the cheapest option unless you think they have the best profile. Both older players and younger players have hit from ambiguous pass-catching depth charts, but veteran hits have often been drafted earlier overall and within their pass-catching rooms. If you’re betting on a player in an ambiguous pass-catcher room, you should be projecting either strong team passing volume or elite passing efficiency. Relatedly, you can bet on multiple pass-catchers from the same offense if you expect them to be part of an elite passing game. As an experimenting in shorter, faster content delivery, I’ve decided to release the team-by-team portions of this series one at a time rather than all at once. Today we focus on one of the most hotly-debated pass catcher groups in the NFL — the Chicago Bears. Thinking About Thinking: Mostly Fantasy Football Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. The Three Bears Luther Burden III — Underdog ADP: 42.9 (WR21) Colston Loveland — Underdog ADP: 47.4 (TE3) Rome Odunze — Underdog ADP: 60.0 (WR30) Overview The Bears trio of pass catchers is perhaps the most hotly debated room in this seris and for good reason. Compared to every other team I’ll write about and every team included in the 2021-2025 data analyzed last article, the 2026 Bears boast the tightest ADP differential between their three top-pass catchers and the earliest ADP for their third pass catcher. The market has a uniquely high level of excitement for the Bears offense compared to most other teams who fit this criteria, as well as a unique level of uncertainty regarding the pass-catcher hierarchy. That makes plenty of sense given how little we’ve actually seen of this pass-catcher unit as it stands now. Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland were each rookies in 2025 and were brought on slowly in the first half of the season behind veterans Odunze, D.J. Moore, Olamide Zaccheaus and Cole Kmet. Luther Burden III ran 20 routes for the first time in Week 10, running between 50-70% of the team’s routes in each of the remaining games. Colston Loveland was also in a rotational role for the first 7 weeks, but got his first chance at a full-time role due to Cole Kmet’s injury in Week 8. He had a breakout game one week later vs. the Bengals and gradually increased his playing time over the remainder of the season, finally emerging as a true every-down player at the end of the year. Rome Odunze started his sophomore campaign red hot, but faded over the second half while playing through and eventually missing time with a stress fracture in his foot. Everyone has their favourite spli…