Bears' Receiver Luther Burden III Is Going to Explode After DJ Moore's Departure

DJ Moore became quite the luxury for the Bears this season. While he consistently came up with big plays in the clutch (especially against the Packers), he was an afterthought far more regularly.

The team obviously thought he was expendable, as they traded the veteran receiver and a fifth-round pick to the Bills for the 60th overall selection.

It was more of a salary dump than anything else, as Buffalo took on Moore's entire remaining contract (which will pay him $24.5 million over the next four years), and they'll save $16.5 million right off the bat. That's a hefty chunk of change for a team hurting badly for some wiggle room in the salary cap department.

With that said, the trade was also a great return on investment for Moore. I was worried they were going to get shafted on account of his contract (I thought they were going to land somewhere in the fourth or fifth-round range), but they actually managed to land another day two pick out of the deal.

It'll hurt to see him wearing a Bills jersey, but I also understand it from a business perspective. On the bright side, he's headed to a contender with one of the league's best quarterbacks (a much better situation than he would be in Vegas).

Moore will definitely be missed in Chicago. His toughness was undeniable, and Ben Johnson praised him for lining up virtually everywhere at the NFL Scouting Combine last week. However, the fact that they felt comfortable dealing Moore indicates one thing: They have a ton of confidence in their young weapons on the offensive side of the ball.

It's not hard to see why that's the case, either. Rome Odunze was on fire early in the season. He was on pace for over 1100 yards before suffering an ankle injury (which lingered over the next two months) in the Week 8 matchup against the Ravens. Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III also really began to heat up late in the year. That group has the potential to become one of the league's most potent pass-catching trios in short order.

Burden, specifically,

I personally think Loveland has the best chance to develop into Williams' top target in the passing game. He was downright unstoppable down the stretch and set a rookie TE record for receiving yards in the playoffs despite only playing two games. However, the title of 'top target' might not mean much in Ben Johnson's offense, as the Bears are destined to spread the ball around heavily.

I think Luther Burden III will be the main beneficiary of Moore being shipped out of town, as they have similar skill sets and RAC ability. In fact, I think Burden's route-running gives him a much higher ceiling than Moore.

Bears assistant head coach Antwaan Randle El gave Burden a glowing review when speaking to WGN's Jarrett Payton last month.

"Very special, and he hadn't really scratched the surface," Randle El said. "He's done some things in practice, and you're like, whoa, you just kind of like, okay. If you go back and look at the film, like, okay. This is why I was so excited in the draft room for this dude because you see it."

While Burden's rookie season might've started with a whimper (he had 13 catches for 171 yards through the first nine weeks), it ended with quite the bang. He had 34 catches for 481 yards over the final eight games to finish the year with 47 grabs for 652 yards and two touchdowns.

The numbers might not be all that mesmerizing, but they weren't a proper indication of just how good he looked down the stretch. He was a dynamo whenever they got the ball in his hands.

Bears WR1 Luther Burdenpic.twitter.com/gJr4vhI2kH
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) March 5, 2026

While his raw numbers might not do him justice, it's tough to argue with what the metrics say about Burden's rookie performance. Not only was he PFF's highest-graded rookie receiver, but his 2.71 yards-per-route-run was downright ELITE for a rookie receiver. It was the best mark over the previous decade...

Top-10 rookies in yards/route run since 2015

1. 2.71 - Luther Burden
2. 2.68 - A.J. Brown
3. 2.66 - Justin Jefferson
4. 2.60 - Puka Nacua
5. 2.51 - Ja'Marr Chase
6. 2.46 - Brian Thomas Jr.
7. 2.42 - Chris Olave
8. 2.41 - Rashee Rice
9. 2.40 - Ladd McConkey
10. 2.28 - Tyreek Hill pic.twitter.com/XK9hkZDVFI
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) March 5, 2026

While that can be somewhat of a wishy-washy statistic (glorified deep threats who provide little impact elsewhere can skew those numbers), that wasn't the case with Burden. He was a do-it-all threat on the perimeter who stressed defenses at all levels of the field.

While Burden could improve in the drop department (PFF credited him with three on the year), you can live with those if he's giving you the dynamic plays consistently. I'll miss DJ Moore, but I'm very excited to see what the 22-year-old can do with a bigger piece of the pie next season.