In a game where drops were an issue for the Chicago Bears, rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III stepped up down the stretch, hauling in a 27-yard catch ahead of the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter. It was part of a day in which Burden caught three passes for 51 yards in Chicago’s Week 10 victory against the New York Giants. It brought his season total to 16 catches (on 18 targets) for 222 yards and a touchdown. And perhaps more is on the way.
Sunday’s drop totals were costly in the moment but fluky in the long run. Olamide Zaccheaus (2), DJ Moore (1), D’Andre Swift (1), and Kyle Monangai (1) were all credited with drops on Sunday (via PFF), totaling half of the drops Bears receivers have accumulated all season (10). But I don’t see a reason for widespread concern there, and neither does Bears Head Coach Ben Johnson.
“You learn from it, you move on,” he said. “In my experience — and I’ve coached quarterbacks, I’ve coached receivers, I’ve coached tight ends on the offensive side — you can make things worse by going overboard on some of this stuff. And that’s not the intent.
“All those guys, they want to catch the football when it comes their way. We acknowledge the fact that there were a few of those that we could have hauled in. We need to do that, turn the page, let’s keep it moving. We’re going to be just fine.”
Sep 28, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson looks on from the sideline during the second half against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn ImagesHowever, I do feel like there is a change that needs to be made in the passing game: getting Luther Burden III more opportunities. And the good news is, it looks like Ben Johnson is already working on making that happen.
It Feels Like Luther Burden III Is Earning Ben Johnson’s Trust
Sunday’s contest against the New York Giants represented Burden’s largest snap count of the season (33), with the rookie wideout being on the field for 48.5 percent of Chicago’s offensive snaps. Burden’s snap count in his previous game (Week 8 against Baltimore) was impacted by him leaving the game with a concussion that cost him Week 9 against the Bengals. Still, his snap count the week prior against the Saints was his second-highest of the season (19), with Burden being on the field for 27.5 percent of the team’s offensive snaps.
So, save for the injury-shortened game and the game missed to injury in the last month, Burden has seen his largest workloads of the season, which points to Ben Johnson’s trust level growing in the rookie receiver.
Johnson confirmed as much on Monday:
“You’ve slowly seen his rep count go up. He’s the guy that’s starting to get more targets. It’s atrust level between the coaches and the player. It’s a trust level between the quarterback and areceiver. It continues to ascend. And so, he’s been very productive when we’ve been able to getthe ball in his hands, and there’s a strong argument that we should get it to him more.”
Nov 9, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III (10) makes a catch against the New York Giants during the second half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-Imagn ImagesAs for his quarterback’s trust level in him, Caleb Williams seems to be as much a believer as his head coach.
“As ‘Lu’ has said, when he gets the ball in his hands and he’s one-on-one, he’s pretty dangerous,” Williams said on Sunday while referencing Luther Burden said in the summer. “I had full belief. It’s something that we’ve been throwing for — we’ve had it up for about three weeks now. So I just felt confident in that moment — and I felt confident in him.”
Of course, an increased snap and target share for Burden means that someone has to lose some reps. To that end, I’ll point to Olamide Zaccheaus. Not because of the costly drops on Sunday against the Giants, but because it feels like the right time to make a transition that has felt planned all along. Zaccheaus has posted offensive snap rates north of 50 percent in every game this season save for the Minnesota and Detroit losses in the season’s first two weeks. He was on the field for 57.4 percent of Chicago’s snaps against the Giants, and 63.8 percent and 60.3 percent in the previous two weeks.
When Chicago signed the journeyman wide receiver, it felt like money well spent to have a veteran who could fill the void between DJ Moore and Rome Odunze and the rookie Burden, who opened camp with some injury issues. But with Burden proving his value and increasing his trust level from his head coach and quarterback, and Ben Johnson getting his rookie weapons more involved across the board in recent weeks, now feels like a great time to see a chunk of those snaps go from Zaccheaus to Burden.
As I said, it seems like Johnson is already working on that, but here’s to hoping it’s something we see prioritized sooner than later.
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