Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland are rewriting Bears rookie history. Discover how their explosive performances stack up against franchise legends.
The Chicago Bears are getting a pretty good return on investment in rookies Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland.
Burden just set a new career high in receiving yards with 138 in the 42-38 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 17. Loveland continues to be a red-zone threat as the season goes on and has won over his teammates, earning a new nickname from safety Kevin Byard.
Luckily for Burden, he avoided a significant injury in that game. He was seen grabbing his leg after the final play and was carted off the field. However, he was able to answer questions in the locker room afterwards, confirming that it wasn't as bad as it looked.
Burden has 617 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while Loveland has 622 and five touchdowns. Burden and Loveland are even in the mix with some of the best rookie performances in franchise history.
According to Statmuse.com, the rookies are inside the top 10 for most receiving yards and receptions in their first seasons as Bears.
The player with the most receiving yards in their first season with the franchise is Harlon Hill, who had 1,124 in 1951. Former Bears running back Matt Forte is the leader in rookie receptions with 63 in 2008.
Burden is currently eighth in receiving yards and the ninth-most receptions (44). Loveland ranks seventh in receiving yards and has the sixth-most receptions.
It's no wonder Loveland has more receptions than Burden. The tight end has started to be called "3rd-and-Colston" by his teammates because he is always open when Caleb Williams is scrambling outside the pocket or when the team needs a big third-down conversion.
Burden and Loveland have been called upon much more lately, following the recent injury to Rome Odunze. Odunze has been dealing with a stress fracture injury to his foot and hasn't played since Week 13.
Odunze was listed as questionable on Friday's injury report, so a return before the playoffs could be likely. It would be huge if the Bears could have a healthy receiver room ahead of the postseason.
Chicago is the No. 2 seed and will face the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card with a win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday. The Bears may not need to beat the Lions, because if the Philadelphia Eagles lose to the Washington Commanders, the same out will be achieved.
Kickoff is set for 3:25 p.m. CT on Fox for the regular season finale.