LutherBurden III

News: 3 days agoBurden caught all five of his targets for 63 yards and added two yards on his only carry in Sunday's 59-37 win over the Panthers.

Spin: In the highest-scoring Week 1 game in NFL history, Burden didn't make a huge impact but did the most he could with the targets he got. The Bears' running game was the engine of the offense in this one -- six of their eight TDs came on the ground -- and that balance will tip toward the pass-catchers sooner or later. Burden will look for more volume in Week 2 at home against the Vikings.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Burden enters his second NFL season as one of the most popular breakout candidates in fantasy. The 2025 second-round pick played sparingly during most of his rookie season, but flashed elite efficiency when called upon, ranking in the top five among wide receivers in catch rate (77%), yards per target (10.8), RAC (7.3) and YPRR (2.9). Burden is obviously an unproven commodity (he has two career top-20 fantasy outings, after all), but with DJ Moore no longer on the roster, he's a lock for a larger role and very well could lead Chicago in targets. He could cost a pretty penny on draft day, but Burden, 22, is a fine WR3 target with upside for more.