Bears insider reveals 'things are looking up' for Luther Burden III after Week 6

Bears insider reveals 'things are looking up' for Luther Burden III after Week 6 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Chicago Bears came out of their Week 5 bye and beat the Washington Commanders to get to 3-2, and right into the thick of a playoff push. With Ben Johnson at the helm, the Bears' offense has looked much better this season.

Of course, the development of Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze has also helped the Bears' offense turn things around after their 0-2 start. But going forward, there are still areas for the Bears to improve the offense, especially outside of Odunze and DJ Moore.

According to Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune, Chicago could be eyeing a bigger role for one of their rookie playmakers on offense, as Luther Burden III is trending in the right direction for an increased workload.

Bears could utilize Luther Burden III more going forward after a solid Week 6 performance

"I'd say things are looking up for Burden and more playing time," Biggs writes. This belief is a great sign for the Bears' rookie pass catcher.

Coleston Loveland is still taking his time to integrate into the offense, as is Burden. But after hauling in four receptions for 51 yards in Monday's game, Burden's trending towards a larger role in the offense.

There are a couple of main things holding Burden back from a larger role. Outside of Burden's on-field play, the main issue is getting on the field. In Week 6, Burden played just 15 snaps and ran just 12 routes.

That's not nearly enough to become a focal point of the offense. But there are two scenarios in which Burden's role could increase. Burden could get more opportunities if Moore misses time with his groin injury or if Olamide Zaccheaus is benched.

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Compared to Burden's 15 snaps, Zaccheaus played 54 snaps in Monday night's game. The journeyman wide receiver had a tough drop over the middle on a perfectly thrown ball from Williams, which could affect his role as the season progresses.

Of the two, the more immediate path to playing time is Moore's injury. While there's some speculation over whether Moore is traded, those are just rumors, and the Bears likely won't move him.

Instead, Moore could miss a game or two, opening the pathway for Burden to get more consistent playing time. If he were to take advantage of that playing time increase, he could carve out a more stable role going forward.

The second-round pick has shown intriguing potential this season in limited action, but before getting ready for a breakout performance, he needs to suit up and play for more than 15 snaps in a game.

If he could raise his snap share to 50 percent of the team's snaps, roughly 30 on average, then his role could continue to expand. But, even though some things still need to go Burden's way, as Biggs reports, he's trending in the right direction.

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