Luther Burden III Fantasy Profile: Bears' rookie WR has upside and risk

Luther Burden III is in an interesting situation for the upcoming 2025 fantasy football season this year. Rookies always come with a certain amount of risk, but he will have a bit more than most others after landing with the Chicago Bears. He also brings significant upside due to his skillset and offensive system, so here's where his fantasy profile currently stands.

Should you draft Luther Burden III in Fantasy?

Luther Burden III

Luther Burden III was selected in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He was originally projected to be a first-rund pick this year, so the franchise may have landed a potential steal for their new-look offense.

The Bears recently hired highly-respected offensive mind Ben Johnson as their new head coach for the upcoming season. This will theoretically improve their offense as a whole, especially if second-year quarterback Caleb Williams can take his projected step forward in his development.

A potentially high-powered offense surely increases the upside of Burden this year, but the rookie will also be in a risky situation for fantasy football. One of his biggest hurdles is going to be the massive competition for targets among the Bears' pass-catchers this year.

DJ Moore and Rome Odunze are the other top wide receivers on their roster, but it doesn't end there. They also selected rookie tight end Colston Loveland in the first round of the draft this year and have a solid pass-catching running back in D'Andre Swift as well.

This creates a situation where the Bears have plenty of mouths to feed in Johnson's favorable offensive system. The biggest unkown for Luther Burden III is exactly where he fits into their target hierarchy. If he can carve out a large enough role, he could be a steal in 2025 fantasy football drafts, but he also has legitimate bust potential if he gets buried by the Bears' other strong options.

When analyzing what Burden's role will be this year, looking at what Keenan Allen did last year is a solid starting point. The rookie is essentially replacing him after he departed for the Los Angeles Chargers in free agency this year. Allen recorded 70 receptions on 121 targets for 744 yards and eight total touchdowbns with the Bears last season.

If Burden can directly replace Allen's production from last year, he is in line for a solid rookie season. With the addition of Ben Johnson and development of Caleb Williams, it's also possible he could exceed those numbers. On the other hand, it's important to remeber that Odunze is likely to increase his own role and Loveland was drafted before Burden for the Bears, so the rookie wide receiver is a gamble.

Burden currently ranks as the 144th overall player and WR56 in 2025 fantasy football drafts, according to Fantasy Pros. This means that he can be targeted around the 12th round in many drafts and profiles as a bench piece for most rosters. His fantasy outlook suggests more upside than many other comparable wide receivers, but also a significantly lower floor.

Michael Pittman Jr. and Christian Kirk are among the other wide receivers with a similar ADP as Luther Burden III. They have both demonstrated to have a safe floor in fantasy football, but their upside appears limited by their current offensive situations with their NFL teams this year. Managers seeking higher ceilings would be wise to priortize Burden among this trio of options.

Luther Burden III Fantasy Projection

Burden vs Williams vs Higgins

Where Luther Burden III holds the most fantasy value for the 2025 season is in Dynasty leagues. The multi-year format reduces the need for him to perform right away for the Chicago Bears. He is still an itriguing option in traditional season-long formats as welkl, but he will have a significantly lower floor in these leagues.

Sportskeeda's Who Should I Draft tool suggests picking Burden in favor of may other rookie wide receivers this season. He has higher projections than most of the others, including Kyle Williams and Jayden Higgins. His projections include nearly 43 receptions for more than 500 total yards and about five touchdowns, whioch would equate to a solid fantasy season in his rookie year with the Bears.