Luther Burden III, Colston Loveland make ESPN’s All-Rookie Team

For once, there is absolutely zero debate about whether the Chicago Bears had a strong draft in 2025.

Four members of the Bears’ rookie class—Colston Loveland (No. 10 overall pick), Luther Burden III (No. 39), Ozzy Trapilo (No. 56) and Kyle Monangai (No. 233)—have played significant roles during Chicago’s NFC North-winning campaign.

And two of them might be in for some All-Rookie Team honors, if ESPN’s latest list foreshadows anything.

Both Loveland and Burden, the Bears’ first two picks of last spring’s draft, nabbed spots on ESPN’s list of top rookies. In fact, Burden impressively nabbed first-team honors alongside Carolina’s Tetairoa McMillan and Tampa Bay’s Emeka Egbuka, while Colston Loveland leapfrogged Tyler Warren to get a second-team nomination behind Cleveland’s Harold Fannin Jr.

“It took time for Burden to get a foothold in Ben Johnson's thick and detailed playbook, but as the game has slowed down for him, he has cashed in on his opportunities and carved out a bigger role, culminating with his career-best 138-yard performance Sunday night against the 49ers,” wrote Ben Solak. “Burden has run at least 16 routes in every game since the Bears' Week 5 bye after never running more than 12 before it. In seven games post-bye, he has snagged 31 of 41 targets for 446 yards -- that's a 17-game pace of 75 catches on 100 targets for 1,083 yards.

“Burden is a sudden movement player who can win on the outside, in the slot and with designed touches behind the line of scrimmage. He's still more of a screen/checkdown option than a downfield target, but that part of his game will come as he improves his play strength. With only two drops this season, Burden has earned more downfield opportunities entering Year 2.”

While some fans might’ve had questions when the Bears took Burden early in the second round despite already having Rome Odunze and DJ Moore, time has proven them wise. At this moment, he’s the scariest playmaker the Bears have, and Sunday night’s dominant performance against San Francisco proves why.

As for Loveland, the No. 10 overall pick has arguably morphed in Chicago’s most pivotal player on offense over the last half of the season, helping him catch up with Warren, who went four picks later.

“I had the Colts' Tyler Warren in this spot until Sunday night, when Loveland posted a quality six-catch, 94-yard performance. It's razor thin between the two first-rounders. Were it not for Warren's quarterbacking situation going down the drain, he'd likely still take this spot. Loveland has the edge as a blocker and catcher outside of his frame, while Warren wins as a tackle breaker and has a greater variety of routes in his bag. Both look like bona fide No. 1 tight ends and game-plan-worthy playmakers,” Solak added.

As hot a topic as it was to start the season, no one is lamenting the Loveland pick now. His emergence as TE1 for the Bears and chemistry with Caleb Williams has helped the second-year quarterback come into his own in the back half of the season, and made it possible for Chicago to overcome numerous injuries at the receiver position.

And we haven’t even discussed yet how Trapilo has largely stepped in and held down the left tackle spot without a hitch since Week 12, or how Monangai has emerged as a bowling ball of destruction in relief of D’Andre Swift. Neither made the list, but both have clearly been successes so far.

After years of rough drafting, the Bears have started hitting more consistently, including on the 2024 No. 1 overall pick Williams. This crop of rookies will be part of the foundation that elevates them to a perennial playoff team.

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