The Chicago Bears are hosting the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football in a primetime battle to start the season.
There are a lot of new faces in the Windy City, and rookie WR Luther Burden is one of them. Fans are excited to see how their team gels together, and Chicago's special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said that while rookies are typically tough to trust on special teams, "The one thing about Luther Burden is that he’s as smooth as they come.”
Luther Burden Could Play Special Teams in Week 1
Whether not not Burden will return punts for the Bears remains to be seen. He returned some punts during his college days with Missouri, but wasn't consistently back there.
Regardless, Burden is a dynamic weapon in the open field, and the Bears may look to get him as many of these chances as possible. Dating back to May, the Bears hinted at using Burden as a returner. Devin Duvernay is listed as the starter at punt returner, and while the Bears could roll with him, don't be shocked if Burden gets thrown back there as well.
This would add a bigger role to this plate, as he will likely be WR3 in this offense behind D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze. Burden is a player who will line up in the slot and can chew up reps in the short and intermediate areas of the field.
He missed some time this offseason with a soft tissue injury, but returned early on in training camp. Upon returning, he had begun getting implemented in the game plan and played solidly in the preseason. Burden had five catches for 78 receiving yards, with 15.6 yards per reception. According to PFF, he finished with a 74.1 overall grade and an 85.5 run-blocking grade.
That run blocking grade is what sticks out. Being a high-quality run blocker is a way to get on the field and get your coaches to get you the ball in the passing attack.
It'll be interesting to see how much the coaches put on his plate in his debut, but it appears that Burden has been earning his coaches' trust over the past couple of months. When the games kick off, we shall see if the coaches mean what they say, but there's a good shot that Burden will wear multiple hats for the Bears in 2025.