When Caleb Williams has targeted Luther Burden III this season, there has been a consistent result.

On 18 targets, the Bears’ rookie wide receiver has caught 16 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown. He has a 136.6 passer rating when targeted, the highest on the team. 

Burden has been a reliable target for Williams and deserves an increased role in Ben Johnson’s offense for the final eight games of the 2025 regular season.

In the Bears’ 24-20 win over the New York Giants, Burden caught three passes on three targets for 51 yards, but his final reception helped complete the fourth-quarter comeback last Sunday at Soldier Field. 

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On second-and-3 with 2:14 remaining in the game, Burden lined up one-on-one towards Williams’ right and ran a comeback. He created separation, caught the football and fought for additional yardage despite two Giants defenders attempting to bring him down. He gained 27 yards, and two plays later, Williams scored the game-deciding touchdown.

“We call it deep stopper,” Burden said after the game. “I think I had press on that, so I mean, it was pretty easy. Deep stopper. Get ’em going, just stop him on a dime (snaps finger), get a good completion.”

Burden saying, “It was pretty easy” during a critical moment in the game and against a cornerback pressed on the line of scrimmage, highlights the confidence he has in himself. 

But that isn’t new. Burden felt he should’ve been a first-round draft pick instead of the No. 39 overall pick in the second round. 

And when Burden makes a play like the one he did in the fourth quarter, it validates the thoughts he had on draft night, but also shows that he needs to be utilized more on offense. 

In the Week 10 victory over the Giants, Burden played 33 offensive snaps, his most all season. Before the Giants game, Burden’s most snaps in a game were 19, which he reached twice in Weeks 7 and 4, according to Pro Football Focus.

Williams’ pass catchers also dropped six passes against the Giants, and Olamide Zaccheaus was credited with two drops. Still, he also had a drop negated after the Giants committed an illegal contact penalty on Rome Odunze. 

With the NFC playoff picture close and the Bears currently tied for first place in the NFC North with the Detroit Lions, Chicago can’t afford to have players committing mistakes. Johnson discussed his strategy to address dropped passes during his Monday media availability. 

“My strategy is like anything, you talk about it, and then you move on, you learn from it, you move on,” Johnson said. “With my experience, and I’ve coached quarterbacks, I’ve coached receivers, I’ve coached tight ends on the offensive side, and you can make things worse by going overboard on some of this stuff. And that’s not the intent. All those guys, they want to catch the football when it comes their way. We acknowledge the fact that there are a few of those that we could haul in. We need to do that. Turn the page, let’s keep it moving. So we’re going to be just fine.”

Zacchaeus’ recent drops and Burden’s continued reliability warrant more opportunities for the rookie. The Bears drafted Burden with their first pick in the second round for a reason, and his playmaking ability could be exactly what the team needs to help them compete during this challenging end to the regular season. 

“You’ve slowly seen his rep count go up,” Johnson said. “He’s the guy that’s starting to get more targets. It’s a trust level between the coaches and the player. It’s a trust level between the quarterback and a receiver. It continues to ascend. And so, he’s been very productive when we’ve been able to get the ball in his hands, and there’s a strong argument that we should get it to him more.”