How Luther Burden III has earned Bears’ trust, Caleb Williams’ targets

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Luther Burden III lined up in the slot and turned his head inward, waiting for the ball to snap. The Bears receiver took off sprinting once it had, maneuvering around a linebacker before splitting the safeties on his way to the end zone.

Burden put his hand up to call for the ball, but it was already headed his way. Quarterback Caleb Williams dropped right into his hands for a 35-yard touchdown. It was a great throw and an excellent catch, showcasing Burden as an explosive playmaker.

That rep came early in a 42-38 loss to San Francisco. One of his last was maybe even more impressive.

The Bears faced a third-and-10, gotta-have-it moment down a score with a minute left. Burden came in motion to the right and broke into a route off the snap. He cut outside with some cushion, and Williams gave him possession well short of the snap. 49ers cornerback Chase Lucas stood between Burden and the sticks, so he put the defender on skates, cutting inside and then out to pick up the first down.

“I was running back. That was my first position ever playing football,” Burden said after Thursday’s practice. “I know how to not get tackled. When I get the ball, I’m trying to score. Whatever I’ve got to do to get in that box, I’m going to do that.”

The No. 39 overall NFL draft pick has been truly dynamic of late, with 18 catches for 289 yards and a touchdown on 22 targets over his last three games, with eight for 138 and a score versus San Francisco as his crowning achievement. Such production has been vital, with Rome Odunze sidelines with a stress fracture in his foot. It will be again on Sunday versus Detroit in the regular-season finale.

[READ: Ben Johnson should prioritize Caleb Williams being Bears’ first 4,000-yard QB]

Overall, Burden has averaged 2.8 yards per route run this season, per NFL Next Gen Stats, third-most among receivers with at least 200 routes.

The only receivers above him: Puka Nacua and Jaxson Smith-Njigba.

That’s elite company and proof that Burden is making the most of his opportunities. He’s driven to do so, believing he must earn his targets.

“Every time the ball comes to me, I’m trying to make them count,” Burden said. “I want to make the coach give me the ball more and more. I’m just trying to make the most of my opportunity.”

That’s not just about getting open. It’s about blocking intensely for the run. It’s about lining up correctly, every time. It’s about building chemistry with Williams and his fellow receivers.

He started slowly after missing most of the on-field, offseason program work with a hamstring injury, but he has caught up with extra time spent. He comes in early to meet with position coach Antwaan Randle-El. He stays after practice running routes for Williams.

“I’ve observed his growth as a player, as a student,” Randle-El said. “You’ve seen the eagerness, the enthusiasm of wanting to learn more. It has just gotten better and better. Not that he just didn’t want to learn. But, when you talk ball, he lights up. That’s always good to see. It’s always good to see the progression.”

[READ: Why Ben Johnson, Bears pushing hard to beat Lions, earn No. 2 seed]

There’s passion in everything Burden does at Halas Hall with one goal in mind.

“He’s always focused on, ‘How can I get the ball?’” Randle-El said. “We’ve gotten him to a point where he not necessarily believes in the run game, but he believes in how we can affect the run game in blocking. Over the last couple of games, he had a pancake and a knock down. Those things are good to see. His effort has showed up in the run game and pass game. It has been going well.”

Consistency is key, especially with Odunze still out and the playoffs coming up. The Bears will need Burden at his best to make the deep playoff run that’s possible when things are going right.

“As he said before, it’s a problem for our opponents when you get the ball in his hands,” Williams said. “Just giving him a shot, letting him go make plays, give him the best runner ball that I can so that he can go and be explosive and be the player that he is. That’s why we drafted him here.”

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