Chicago Bears’ Top Breakout Candidate Already Confirmed By Ben Johnson

The Chicago Bears have a good amount of young talent on their 2026 roster, which means the team has no shortage of breakout candidates.

With so many to choose from, Pro Football & Sports Network’s Jacob Infante went with wide receiver Luther Burden.

Infante even went as far as to say Burden could emerge as the Bears’ top wide receiver over Rome Odunze.

“An advanced analytical darling in 2025, Luther Burden III was an extremely efficient receiver for the Chicago Bears, notably leading all rookie wide receivers with an 83.8 PFSN WR Impact Score,” he wrote.

“He was on a 1,000-yard pace in the final eight games of the year, overcoming a slow start to the season to solidify himself as an impact receiver,” Infante added. “He has the chance to break out as the Bears’ WR1 in 2026.”

Ben Johnson agrees on Luther Burden’s breakout candidacy

All offseason long, head coach Ben Johnson has told us Burden is a breakout candidate without directly saying those words.

Johnson started firing up the Luther Burden hype train while at the NFL league meeting in March.

“He’s exactly what we thought we were getting out of the draft last year,” he said of Burden, per Larry Mayer of ChicagoBears.com. “This guy is a dynamic playmaker. He’s got some of the best run-after-the-catch in the game right now. I really believe that. We’ve got to continue to get the ball in his hands as often as we possibly can.”

“What I’ve grown to love about him is this guy loves football. He’s been in all offseason. He’s been lifting weights with our strength staff. He’s really, really excited to get a full offseason going and look to develop a bigger route tree,” Johnson added.

Then, during OTAs last week, Johnson was once again effusive in his praise for the second-year wideout.

“I’m buying Luther Burden stock right now,” Johnson said, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. “He’s been extremely coachable.”

“He looks like he is moving at a different speed right now. He is not thinking as much. The game is slowing down for him,” Johnson added, according to CHGO Bears.

If a great offensive mine and head coach like Johnson is buying Burden stock, we are, too.

Can Luther Burden challenge Rome Odunze for WR1?

Infante doesn’t just think Burden is a breakout candidate, he also believes Burden could become Chicago’s WR1.

That’s certainly not impossible considering the jury is still out on Odunze much like it is Burden. Odunze has shown promise over two years but it’s hard to call him a locked-in WR1 in Chicago.

We also know based on his quotes that Johnson is going to make it a point of emphasis to get Burden the ball more.

That said, Caleb Williams’ connection with Odunze is probably just a bit better because they have one more year together under their belts than Williams has with Burden, so that will help Odunze’s cause to get the larger target share.

Either way, we would not put it past the Bears to have a pair of 1,000-yard wide receivers in 2026.