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Bear Digest

7.67 is the Magic Number That Proves Ben Johnson Has Found the Next Amon-Ra St. Brown

Luther Burden led the NFL in separation and mirrored Amon-Ra St. Brown’s elite efficiency metrics. Here is why a healthy Year 2 will change the Bears' offense.
Gene Chamberlain|
The numbers and Ben Johnson's past offensive tendencies all point to big things in 2026 for Luther Burden.
The numbers and Ben Johnson's past offensive tendencies all point to big things in 2026 for Luther Burden. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

As the price tag for Caleb Williams’ future extension continues to climb (driven further by the Houston Texans' strategy with C.J. Stroud) the Chicago Bears’ success hinges on finding elite, low-cost production to balance the books. That mission officially began with the No. 39 overall selection of Luther Burden.

The Bears are possibly debating if Dillon Thieneman is a statistical upgrade over Jaquan Brisker, but the real transformation of this roster is happening on the other side of the ball. That started last year, and Burden is a significant part of it.

Burden's first big play as a Bear teased, but it was nothing like the way the team intended to use him and did. He caught a 65-yard flea-flicker bomb from Caleb Williams to trigger an easy win over Dallas in Week 3.

The Bears really didn't get use of Burden like they wanted until about Week 7 as he adjusted to the new league with a new offense, and overcame a slow start resulting from an offseason soft tissue injury that kept him out of practices until training camp.

They don't use him like a simple slot receiver or an X or a Z receiver. He could turn up anywhere. It's why they sought out particular types of players in the draft at receiver and tight end.

"So, what is most appealing to us, might not be most appealing to the next guy," Johnson said after the draft concluded.

Strong numbers in spite of everything

Burden still wound up with the team's third-most receptions (47), fifth-most targets (60), fourth-most yards (652) and had only one more touchdown catch after the deep one against Dallas. What he did extremely well was catch shorter passes and pile up yards after Johnson's scheming got him open.

What's big to remember with Burden are two numbers in particular that won't be found on common production charts. One is average separation on catches and that was 4.6. He led the entire NFL per NFL Next Gen Stats. The other stat was yards per route run. At 2.67 yards per route run, he was better than anyone except Puka Nacua (3.72) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (3.61), according to Sumer Sports.

Burden's statistics from last year include two games missed due to injury. He got on the field for only 402 offensive plays, or about 35% of their plays. This alone suggests a huge leap in raw numbers if not effectiveness, because many of Burden's reps were taken up by DJ Moore catching shorter passes and trying to take them upfield. Moore, of course, is in Buffalo now..

Role in Ben Johnson's offense dictates more use

Burden is playing a role in the offense not unlike what Amon-Ra St. Brown played for Detroit when Johnson was there. It's not an exact duplication, but similar. 

Burden's average depth of target was only 7.67 yards per Stathead and Pro Football Reference. In Johnson's final year with Detroit, St. Brown's average depth of target was 7.67. He has also averaged 7.75 and 6.3 yards for depth of target.

Neither one ranks in the top half of the league for getting downfield with targets but St. Brown has been seventh and third and 31st in yards gained after catches, while Burden last year was 40th.

When, or if, Williams gets more accuracy with his shorter throws and leads Burden more, and if Johnson can continue scheming Burden open the way he called plays to get St. Brown open, it could mean a huge leap forward for the former Missouri receiver.

Year 2 figures to be much bigger for Burden, as Johnson uses him more than 402 plays and for a wider variety of plays — especially if he stays healthy throughout the offseason and training camp to get more practice reps.

He could even get to the end zone more than twice.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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