Despite the D.J. Moore trade, Luther Burden's rookie stats show he's poised to dominate as the Bears' new WR1 in 2026.
It may look like the Chicago Bears have a hole at receiver now that D.J. Moore has been traded.
However, I would argue that someone already on the roster is very capable of replacing Moore. Luther Burden is in a great position to have a breakout year in 2026 and maybe even take over the WR1 role for the Bears.
The Bears suffered an injury to a key member of their receiving corps late in the season. Rome Odunze went down with a foot stress fracture after the Week 13 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Burden had shown some glimpses of greatness earlier in the season, but now was his chance to really showcase his talents. He had 101 receiving yards against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3 and needed to step up with Odunze's injury.
It started before Odunze's injury.
In Burden's final eight regular-season games last season, he recorded 34 catches for 481 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
If we do a little math, we can calculate what those numbers would have been if he had been on that pace all year. Burden would've finished with 72 receptions for 1,022 receiving yards in a full 17-game season.
As a whole, Burden had 652 receiving yards and two touchdowns as a rookie.
It doesn't stop there. Burden and tight end Colston Loveland finished inside the top 10 for most receptions and receiving yards as Bears' rookies.
There are also several intriguing stats that Burden produced in his first year in the NFL.
Since 2015, no one has had more yards per route run as a rookie than Burden (2.71), via Warren Sharp.
Burden did better than A.J. Brown (2.68), Justin Jefferson (2.66), Puka Nacua (2.60), Ja'Marr Chase (2.51), Brian Thomas Jr. (2.46), Chris Olave (2.42), Rashee Rice (2.41), Ladd McConkey (2.40) and Tyreek Hill (2.28) in their rookie seasons.
Sharp also shared how Burden performed compared to 102 other receivers and tight ends with at least 50 targets last season.
Burden was second in YAC per reception (7.2), fifth in yards per target (10.9), fifth in accurate target catch rate (86%), fifth in overall catch rate (78%), ninth in EPA per target (+0.52), 17th in targets per route (25%) and 23rd in success rate (56%).
Among all Bears' receivers and tight ends, Burden was No. 1 in EPA per target, success rate, yards per target, YAC per reception, accurate target catch rate (86%), overall catch rate and targets per route.
An offseason of improvement and another year in Ben Johnson's offense will definitely do Burden some good as he continues to improve as an NFL receiver. With Moore gone, Burden should fill in the role of Chicago's go-to YAC receiver quite nicely.
This could be just the beginning for Burden.