The Chicago Bears are expecting big things from Luther Burden III entering the 2026 season, and the coaching staff believes they have already started to see that growth late last year. Wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El recently noted that Burden flipped a switch during the second half of the season and started playing at a different level.
Chicago Bears expect big things from Luther Burden in 2026
Randle-El specifically pointed to the Bears’ win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13 as the turning point for Burden. Looking at the numbers, it is easy to understand why that game stands out.
Before the Eagles game, Burden played in 10 contests and recorded 22 catches for 295 yards. Including the playoffs, he played six games after that point and totaled 27 catches for 390 yards.
That is a significant jump in production. Burden went from averaging 2.2 catches and 29.5 yards per game to averaging 4.5 catches and 65 yards per game during the stretch run of the season.
What makes that jump even more impressive is when it happened. Those games came during a playoff push when the pressure and intensity increased. That is also the time of year when many rookies begin to slow down physically and mentally after the longest season of their careers. Instead of hitting a wall, Burden appeared to improve as the season went on.
The efficiency was there even earlier in the year. Burden averaged 2.35 yards per route run during the first 10 weeks of the season when he was on the field. For comparison, that matched the mark posted by George Pickens last season. The bigger issue early on was simply that Burden was not consistently seeing enough opportunities within the offense.
That is part of why Randle-El’s comments are notable. The Bears clearly wanted to see more from Burden behind the scenes, whether it was in practice, preparation, or meetings. Whatever changed appears to have happened internally because the production and usage both increased afterward.
What stands out most is that Burden became even more efficient while taking on a larger workload. During his final six games, his yards per route run climbed to 2.48, which matched Amon-Ra St. Brown from last season.
There are not many wide receivers entering the 2026 season with more upside than Burden. With D. J. Moore no longer in the mix, there are more targets available in the offense as well.
Burden’s late-season growth, combined with the confidence the coaching staff is showing in him, makes it clear that the Bears expect him to take on a much larger role this season.
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