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The Chicago Bears are under the microscope heading into year two of the Caleb Williams era, and every move that the team makes is being closely monitored as everyone waits to see if they can improve under new head coach Ben Johnson.
Coming into Williams' rookie year, the narrative was that he had plenty of weapons to throw to on the outside. That didn't necessarily end up being the case, as Keenan Allen, DJ Moore and Rome Odunze all disappointed relative to expectations.
Allen is a free agent, while Moore and Odunze will look for more effective deployment from Johnson than they got from Shane Waldron and the rotating cast of Bears play callers in 2024. Chicago selected a potential third wide receiver in the second round of the NFL Draft, picking up Luther Burden III from Missouri.
Now, after a rocky start to his time with the Bears, Burden is finally on the field at training camp, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL media.
“Here at Bears practice, rookie WR Luther Burden is on the practice field for the first time in camp,” Rapoport reported on X, formerly Twitter.
Burden missed minicamp earlier in the offseason and the first four practices of training camp with a hamstring injury, even leading Johnson to call him out in a press conference. However, he is now back on the field and can start building chemistry with Williams before his rookie season.
The Bears will want to get Burden up to speed quickly in order to allow him to be a weapon for Williams, Johnson and this offense when the regular season rolls around. The second-round pick was one of the most explosive targets in the NFL Draft this spring and should immediately provide some much-needed juice to this unit.
While the rest of the skill position players in Chicago are unquestionably talented, explosiveness is something that the Bears lacked significantly lacked last season. Moore provides some of that, but making Burden a focal point in the offense would generate much more big-play ability when they have the ball this season.
