LAKE FOREST, Ill. — After spending more than two months sidelined with a hamstring injury that he sustained during OTAs, Chicago Bears rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III wasn’t looking to ease his way into practice once he was cleared for training camp on July 28.
Bears coach Ben Johnson took that same approach with the second-round pick. While his workload increased each day during the second week of camp, the tolerance for mental errors and mistakes was as low for Burden as it was any other player who didn’t have as much catching up to do.
“It shows up already,” Johnson said. “I mean, we were in the walk-through [Monday] afternoon and the misalignments — we have to re-huddle, we have to start it all over again. He’s a little bit behind right now.”
During Burden’s first full-team practice Tuesday, the former first-team All-SEC selection struggled to get lined up during an 11-on-11 drill. Johnson wasted no time booting the rookie from the rep and replaced him with veteran wideout Olamide Zaccheaus.
It was that moment that showed Burden just how much the details matter to his head coach.
“I feel like I’ve got to know my stuff,” Burden said. “[Johnson] holds everybody to a high standard here. It’s great for us, great for the team and that’s the standard here.”
The Bears jumped at the chance to build out their receiving corps behind DJ Moore and Rome Odunze during the NFL draft. While the team had hoped to be in position to select Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson, who was drafted by the New England Patriots one pick before Chicago, Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles didn’t get discouraged when it was the Bears’ turn to make their first selection on the second night of the draft at No. 39.
Burden was the next-highest player on the Bears’ board; a prospect who had been vouched for by Bears wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El as someone who could make an instant impact.
Despite missing so much time this offseason, Burden began to deliver on that promise this week.
His first catch in team drills came on a route run out of the slot (where 75% of his routes generated from during the 2023-24 seasons) during Wednesday’s red zone session. Quarterback Caleb Williams saw Burden create separation from nickel corner Kyler Gordon and hit him in stride. The rookie crossed into the end zone to an ovation from fans.
It was only Burden’s second day being full go in camp, but the speed at which the receiver moved during drills caught Johnson’s attention.
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“I was really impressed with that,” the Bears coach said. “He’s still working on the alignment and the details as you would expect for a young player, but the play-speed jumped off the tape to us all [Wednesday].”
Burden lived up to his coach’s high praise with a standout performance during the Bears’ longest practice of training camp, which spanned nearly 2½ hours on Thursday. The Missouri product began his morning by catching a pass from Williams in stride with veteran cornerback Tyrique Stevenson in coverage. Burden hauled in another contested catch with the second-team offense on a ball he caught down the sideline with hands in his face.
During the two-minute drill at the end of practice, backup quarterback Tyson Bagent found Burden on fourth-and-10 to keep the drive alive.
That’s a role Burden is used to from college where he became Missouri’s go-to player in crunch time. It happened during the Tigers’ furious comeback against Auburn when Burden beat his defender on fourth down to haul in a 16-yard reception and keep his team on the field. It notably took place against South Carolina on a critical fourth-and-5 that resulted in him catching a 37-yard touchdown pass.
Being Williams’ go-to guy in those moments is something Burden is eyeing as a rookie in Chicago.
“I feel like I can do everything in this offense,” Burden said. “I’m just really trying to get my feet wet, get situated on the field and learn my playbook. I feel like everything else will take care of itself.”
