Chicago Bears rookie third-round wide receiver Zavion Thomas could emerge as "a valuable gadget player on offense" in Chicago in his first year in the NFL while also contributing his 4.28-second 40-yard-dash speed as a returner on special teams, according to Courtney Cronin of ESPN. Cronin questions whether head coach Ben Johnson has his next Jahmyr Gibbs, especially after the versatile speedster made plays during the offseason program and was labeled "electric" by teammates as he enters his first year in the league. The 21-year-old out of LSU obviously has big-play abilities because of his high-end speed, but in terms of playing time in his rookie season, that's going to be hard to come by with Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III and Kalif Raymond, and tight end Colston Loveland ahead of him on the depth chart. But if Thomas impresses as a gadget player early on, Johnson will surely manufacture more touches for him. For now, Thomas is merely a deep dynasty/keeper stash who will see most of his playing time on special teams
Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze is set to test his altered left foot in training camp on July 28. He suffered a stress fracture last season but opted against surgery. Despite missing time and the emergence of rookies Burden and Loveland, Odunze was the fantasy WR3 early last season and is ranked WR33, with potential to reclaim the top receiving spot in Chicago's offense
The commencement of training camps is just around the corner. As teams fine-tune their rosters in the coming weeks in pursuit of their ultimate goal, winning a Super Bowl , which positional needs remain? Although it feels like it was much longer ago, the Packers acquired Micah Parsons from Dallas in exchange for draft compensation and defensive tackle Kenny Clark last August. Although it did not have ramifications on last year's postseason, many expected that it would at the time of the deal. There are several other small-scale moves executed in exchange for draft considerations. The Dolphins claimed cornerback Juju Brents on waivers, and now he is in line to start. Center Luke Fortner was acquired by the Saints from the Jaguars . He spent most of the 2025 season blocking for breakout rookie Tyler Shough and parlayed that into a contract from the rival Panthers this offseason. Negligible transactions in the moment can make both short and long-term impacts. Which positions could be of interest to your respective favorite NFL team ? Here is one perspective on the biggest need for each NFC team ahead of the 2026 NFL regular season: The defensive line is a concern. Chicago allowed the fourth-most yards before contact (1.89) in 2025, per TruMedia. The response has been to sign Neville Gallimore and Kentavius Street . The third wide receiver spot behind Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III comes down to Kalif Raymond , Scotty Miller and rookie Zavion Thomas . The offensive line could suffer a setback with Drew Dalman's abrupt retirement, leading to the acquisition of Garrett Bradbury . An injury to Ozzy Trapilo means that Braxton Jones will have to play extended time once again. The unforeseeable expulsion of Terrion Arnold created a void in Chicago's secondary. Veteran Rock Ya-Sin is slated to start opposite D.J. Reed , and depth is really thin. The Lions may look to acquire help prior to the season. Free agent acquisition Nate Hobbs did not deliver the season Green Bay anticipated, and Keisean Nixon , Carrington Valentine are in line to start again. It is a gamble, as is defensive lineman Javon Hargrave tapping into the fountain of youth. It is worth monitoring how the offensive line comes together with multiple players taking on larger roles. With Harrison Smith not currently in the plans for the 2026 season, safety is a weakness after selecting Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks in the first round. Joshua Metellus, Jay Ward , Jakobe Thomas and Theo Jackson are competing for those two spots. The interior offensive line needs to stay healthy and Blake Brendel is tasked with filling Ryan Kelly's shoes post-retirement. Linebacker and cornerback are a few other spots to monitor. Linebacker had been high on the priority list for the Buccaneers, but they invested a second-round pick in Josiah Trotter . Zyon McCollum and Benjamin Morrison are slated to start on the boundary. Both are relatively young in their respective careers, so that could be an up-and-down experience. Depth is even thinner. Jacob Parrish is physical in the slot. Wide receiver and defensive tackle are on similar footing. At receiver, the team added a few veterans, Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheaus , but those are the only proven commodities aside from Drake London . Atlanta drafted Zachariah Branch in the third round, but he may not be ready to run the full route tree. The Falcons flipped defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro for Maason Smith . The team also has Brandon Dorlus and Da'Shawn Hand at the position. Edge rusher is a wild card with James Pearce Jr.'s situation. The team spent big on defense in free agency, bringing in linebacker Devin Lloyd and edge rusher Jaelan Phillips . Lloyd's presence could have a positive impact on Trevin Wallace , a talented player. The area lacking elite talent is the secondary, where Carolina could use help at cornerback or safety to support Jaycee Horn . Mike Jackson played above expectations, but is that sustainable? [... truncated ...]
Considering that Ben Johnson’s 2025 offense didn’t feature one wide receiver over the others, I went back and forth on having one appear on this year’s 10 Most Important Chicago Bears list. But Luther Burden III has a chance to be really special, so I had to include him. At his NFL Combine, he only did the 40-yard dash and positional drills, so he didn’t qualify for an overall RAS score, but watching him play, I think it’s safe to assume his agility testing would have all been charted in the green. He definitely plays to his 4.41 forty, but his quickness, acceleration, and stop-and-cut ability are Devin Hester-esque. He looks different with the ball in his hands, so I would expect the Bears to scheme him more touches this season and give the opposition something to think about. Adding to Burden’s importance this year is the departure of DJ Moore , who was the Bears’ top wideout all three years he was in the Windy City. The Bears used Moore in a variety of ways, including as a running back, and I could envision Burden lining up at tailback for a few reps a game. His 2.7 yards per route run, which is a Next Gen Stat to show how productive a receiver is on a per-route-run basis, was third in the entire NFL behind a couple of first-team All Pros: the Los Angeles Rams ’ Puka Nacua (3.9) and the Seattle Seahawks ’ Jaxon Smith-Njigba (3.7). That’s some decent company. Burden clearly has special traits, but his attitude and work ethic could elevate him to the upper echelon of receivers in his second year, and his head coach couldn’t be more pleased with how he’s looked so far. “I’m buying Luther Burden stock right now, just how he’s approached his offseason,” Ben Johnson said on May 28. “It’s been electric. He showed up yesterday, had numerous explosive plays. I loved how in Phase 2 he was finishing every single rep that he took, and that really translated over to yesterday as well. So, he’s in a really good spot.” As a rookie, Burden had 47 receptions, 652 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 6 runs for 37 yards, while playing 402 snaps on offense, which among the wide receivers was behind Moore (979), Rome Odunze (733), and Olamide Zaccheaus (580). Burden may see his snap count double now that he’s starting, which contributes to him being a trendy pick around the league as a breakout star. “He’s still developing and growing his route tree,” Johnson continued. “He’s been extremely coachable, so I’m really happy with him. He looks like he’s playing at a different speed right now. You knew he had it in him — he’s a 4.4 guy — and yet those timed speeds don’t always translate to real speed, football speed, the game tape. I think we’re starting to see that now. He’s not thinking as much. He knows what we’re trying to do. So you kind of see that with a number of these guys, as I alluded to before, that have been here for a little bit of time now — the game’s slowing for them, and it allows their abilities to come out.” The Bears had a top-10 offense a year ago, and that was with Burden, their most dynamic playmaker, missing much of the offseason program due to an injury and averaging just 27 snaps per game during the season. How big a jump in production to expect Burden to make in 2026?
While the run game has seen a resurgence in both volume and efficiency in recent seasons, the NFL remains, at its heart, a passing league in the modern era. Because it is a passing league, the value of both quarterbacks and pass catchers keeps increasing. We've seen it in recent years, with an explosion in wide receiver salaries, with superstars topping $40 million in average annual value. A superstar wideout can tilt the field in the offense's favor through both his production and the attention he draws, and that has never been more valuable. But what's more valuable than one star wideout? Well, two star wideouts, obviously. With that in mind, we here at CBS Sports decided to take a look at the top wide receiver duos in the NFL. There are plenty of dual-star duos, as well as some buoyed by one mega-star who teams with another quality player to form an elite pairing. Right now, we think there is a clear-cut top two, another tier of three and then another tier of three after that. That gives us a clear-cut top eight, with the rest of the league filling in behind. In the space below, we're going to rank those top eight duos. But before we do, we also wanted to include some honorable mentions. Honorable(-ish) Mentions: Mike Evans and Ricky Pearsall ( 49ers ), Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III ( Bears ), DJ Moore and Khalil Shakir ( Bills ), Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin ( Buccaneers ), Alec Pierce and Josh Downs ( Colts ), DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon ( Eagles ), Brian Thomas Jr . and Jakobi Meyers ( Jaguars ), Christian Watson and Jayden Reed ( Packers ), Chris Olave and Jordyn Tyson ( Saints ), DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. ( Steelers ) This Seahawks pairing would be higher on the list if we had confidence in which of Shaheed or Cooper Kupp would actually be the No. 2 wide receiver, and that they would be able to consolidate that role while the other would slide further into the background. As it stands, it's more of a target vacuum in JSN, with a couple of guys competing for second-string targets among a host of tight ends and running backs. JSN is coming off one of the better receiver seasons in recent memory, though, so he alone is enough to power the Seahawks into the top 10 of these rankings. And I could easily see them ranking much higher next year, if Shaheed consolidates the role behind him. We've got another new duo on tap here, with both players new to New England this offseason. AJB is one of the small handful of best receivers in football when he is right, but he's also coming off a relatively down season (he averaged his fewest yards per game since 2021) and turned 29 years old June 30, so we don't know if he'll be able to be at his best. Doubs, meanwhile, has always been a bit of a better player than his numbers suggest, because he's always been in such a crowded receiver room. These two guys should give Drake Maye a duo that can really win in the intermediate areas of the field, and Brown, if he rebounds, can win both short and long and create a ton of yardage after the catch. This is yet another new duo, but it could be very exciting. Waddle remains a big-play threat both on deep passes and in terms of creating yardage with the ball in his hands due to his speed. Sutton works best as an isolated X receiver on the outside. The duo gives Bo Nix a pair of wideouts who challenge defenses in markedly different ways, but who can work a lot of the same areas of the field nonetheless. Sean Payton and Davis Webb should have a lot of fun scheming them into position to succeed. Jefferson is coming off what qualifies as a down season for him, with "only" 84 catches for 1,048 yards and two scores. Addison missed time again and caught 42 passes for 610 yards and three touchdowns. They were both hamstrung by the quarterback play of J.J. McCarthy , Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer , though, and we know they have considerably more upside than what they showed last season. Jefferson remains one of the small handful of [... truncated ...]
The Chicago Bears battled back and forth with the San Francisco 49ers on December 28th, 2025, in a primetime Sunday Night Football matchup that was a thing of offensive beauty. It featured five ties, 80 points, and 936 yards of offense. The visiting Bears tied the game up at 35 a few seconds into the fourth quarter on a D’Andre Swift 22-yard touchdown run, and then took the lead on a Caro Santos field goal with 5:22 left in the game. But the ‘Niners would not be denied as they came back with a s 38-yard TD pass from Brock Purdy to Jauan Jennings to take the lead, 42 to 38, with 2:15 left on the clock. The Bears ran 16 plays trying for the go-ahead score, but this comeback fell short. Regardless, it was an exciting game, and while it didn’t make many year-end highlight packages for the Bears (because of the L), it did feature one of the best play calls of the 2025 season from Chicago head coach Ben Johnson. The social media account Film Watchers does a good job of breaking down plays in a quick and concise manner, and they recently picked a Caleb Williams to Luther Burden II touchdown in the first quarter of that game as the best playcall of the year. Relive it here with the breakdown!
The 2026 season will mark Ryan Poles’ fifth season as general manager of the Chicago Bears . Things are trending in the right direction for his regime, seeing as though the Bears won the NFC North last year and won their first playoff game since the 2010-11 season. It took a little while for things to get rolling, but Poles has the Bears trending in the right direction heading into 2026. It hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows, as I highlighted when ranking his five worst moves as the team’s general manager. However, in order to get his team into the playoffs and winning double-digit games, you clearly have to have done some things right. After shining light on the bad, let’s do the same with the good. These are Ryan Poles’ five best moves as the general manager of the Bears. Drafting Luther Burden III in Round 2 Drafting Kyle Monangai in Round 7 Surprising everyone by taking Colston Loveland in Round 1 I’ve put three of the Bears’ 2025 draft picks into the honorable mentions list because the players are all so early in their NFL careers. However, their draft haul looks to have strengthened an already strong offensive foundation on their roster, and that’s not even including the encouraging flashes Ozzy Trapilo showed at left tackle before he got hurt. Luther Burden III is an elite YAC threat who was incredibly efficient last year, to the tune of his ranking No. 11 in the NFL in PFN WR Impact Scoring . Colston Loveland ranked No. 6 in their corresponding metric for tight ends , working the seam and stretching the field much better than the average tight end, especially among rookies. Kyle Monangai also proved to be a tough, tenacious runner who served as a stellar complement to D’Andre Swift. All three selections have aged incredibly well thus far and could certainly move up these rankings in due time. This isn’t one specific move as much as it is an overarching theme in Poles’ tenure as the Bears’ general manager. When he took over in the role, his predecessor Ryan Pace left the Bears in the bottom 10 in cap space. With an aging roster that clearly wasn’t going to compete, Poles inherited several bad contracts, releasing several overpaid veterans and trading others who still had trade value. In his first year as general manager, Chicago led the NFL with over $93 million in dead cap . Some of that dead cap carried over to 2023, but in each of the last three offseasons, the Bears have had a tremendous lack of dead cap space compared to what Poles inherited early on. They ranked 26th in dead cap in 2024, 32nd in 2025, and 22nd in 2026. The DJ Moore trade is eating most of that dead cap this year, and there will be no dead cap on him or any other 53-man rosterable player in 2027, as of this writing. That’s a testament to how well Poles and his regime have managed their finances. The Bears traded for Joe Thuney last offseason when he was already 32 years old, so they went into their trade with the Chiefs knowing the move would likely be a short-term one. That said, coming off a 2024 season in which Chicago had significantly struggled to keep Caleb Williams upright in his rookie year, they desperately needed stability along their offensive line. To say that Thuney gave them stability at left guard would be an understatement. He was outright dominant in 2025, earning the inaugural Protector of the Year award in 2025, along with first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl recognition. His presence helped give Williams a much more clean pocket than what he had in Year 1, and Thuney’s consistency in their run to the playoffs made him such a valuable asset. Though the Bears lost the game, his ability to kick outside at left tackle and perform well in their Divisional Round game against the Rams was admirable, too. To our readers who aren’t as active on social media, I’ll simply say that you made the right decision in the late winer and early spring of 2024. The Bears Twitter Civil War was the most divided I’ve ever seen this fanbase. I
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The Chicago Bears are generating buzz with WR Luther Burden FaceTiming with QB Caleb Williams, while the team anticipates safeties Coby Bryant and Dillon Thieneman to develop. There's speculation about avoiding Micah Parsons in an early matchup against the Packers. The article also touches on the NFL's global expansion, potential Jets interest in Brendan Sorsby, and a defense of Kenny Pickett's draft by a former Steelers GM
It’s tough to narrow down my favorite Bears team of all time down to only one. Though they haven’t won the Super Bowl since I’ve been alive — and have only appeared in one when I was five years old — there have been a handful of entertaining teams that have been extremely fun to watch. There’s the 2018 team that won the NFC North on the wings of the best defense in the NFL. The addition of Khalil Mack to a group that already had players like Akiem Hicks , Kyle Fuller , and Eddie Jackson brought that unit to a supercharged state that was unrivaled by any other team in the league at the time; their PFN Defense Impact ranking of No. 1 in the league backs me up on this. Even though that season ended in the Double Doink, the vibes were high throughout the whole year, and the games were incredibly fun. Of course, you also have last year’s Bears team. After years of coaching incompetence and subpar quarterback play, watching Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams formulate a competent and efficient offense was such a relief to fans in Chicagoland and around the world. Watching young players like Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III grow throughout the course of the year was so much fun, and as inconsistent as the defense was, their ability to generate turnovers made for some exciting football. In the end, though, I’m going with the 2006 Bears team that won the NFC. I’m fully aware that I was five years old when they were playing, and naturally, I knew next to nothing about the schematics of football. I wasn’t able to understand much of I was seeing in a way that I can now. But to me, that’s part of the magic. I didn’t have an ounce of cynicism in me. When Chicago lost games, or whenever someone would make a bad play, I wasn’t mad at the players. I wasn’t mad at the coaches. I was disappointed purely because I wanted to see the Bears win. To me, those players were titans. Every move they made had me awestruck. Because of my youth, I was able to experience that dominant football team with a sense of wonder that I never will be able to again. The 2006 Bears team is the team that made me fall in love with football. It was the first year I watched every single game, and I instantly fell in love with the sport through that talented team. Obviously, you have to start with the defense. Brian Urlacher was at his peak, playing at an All-Pro level and cementing himself as one of the greatest linebackers of the 21st century. Lance Briggs was right alongside him, forming the best off-ball linebacker tandem of the decade. Tommie Harris was the Pro Bowl 3-technique that made Lovie Smith’s defense click. Alex Brown and Adewale Ogunleye held it down on the edge, while Mark Anderson came out of nowhere as a fifth-round rookie to finish with 12.0 sacks. Charles Tillman and Ricky Manning Jr. each finished with five interceptions, while Nathan Vasher added three of his own. Chris Harris was a reliable safety, and though Mike Brown’s season was cut short due to injury, he still made an impact in the six games he was able to play. The rest of the Bears’ defense featured such rotational contributors as Hunter Hillenmeyer, Todd Johnson, Tank Johnson, Alfonso Boone, and Ian Scott. These names that might not ring many bells outside of Chicago are household names to me. The offense was aided significantly by the special teams output of Devin Hester , who came into the NFL as a rookie and had one of the greatest seasons a return specialist has ever had. He came to the Bears and immediately had five returns for touchdowns, two on kickoffs and three on punts. To this day, I still watch clips of Jeff Joniak’s calls on Hester’s biggest returns. Other special teamers like Robbie Gould , Brad Maynard, Patrick Mannelly, and Brendon Ayanbadejo made major impacts in 2006, too. As rocky as Rex Grossman was as the Bears’ quarterback, there was something endearing to me about Sexy Rexy as a kid. It helped that he had Thomas Jones to hand the ball off to, with the late Ce
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It’s that time of year again, folks: padless football is back in action, and us football-starved junkies can’t help but be glad. (That’s all we get to hold us over for the next month until training camp starts. Plus, it’s way more fun to think about than whatever’s going on with the Chicago Bears’ stadium saga.) And, despite every impulse telling us not to read too much into it, you can’t deny it’s nice to see third-round rookie Zavion Thomas pop up with a highlight play or two in the few glimpses we’ve gotten of the Chicago Bears during this off-season phase. At one point during OTAs, Thomas got loose for a long sideline grab from QB1 Caleb Williams and later showed off his speed on a screen pass during minicamp. On a team with a lot of good skill players, from Rome Odunze on down to D’Andre Swift , there’s no denying someone like Thomas simply looks different. Football is not a game you win just by being fast. But speed in the right hands can kill, and that’s what head coach Ben Johnson was thinking when he reached for Thomas with the 89th overall pick in the draft. “If we can harness all this energy and make sure that we can trust him and that he’s going to align where he needs to and run the route the way we need him to, we really could use him, and he could be a big weapon for us this year. But that’s what we’re trying to harness right now,” Johnson told reporters of Thomas . “I think he’s developing the work ethic that we expect, not only from a receiver, but from anyone on offense, or the team.” Thomas was certainly a curious pick at that stage, given the other, much more polished prospects available in the third round. But the reasoning for drafting him (at some point) is obvious: with a coaching staff that can develop him, he has the potential to become a game-changing weapon in the slot, out of the backfield, and in the return game. The Bears have possession receivers (Odunze), matchup nightmares ( Colston Loveland ), YAC monsters ( Luther Burden III ), and a stable of solid running backs in Swift and Kyle Monangai . What they don’t have? A straight-up burner . Though Thomas isn’t likely to be Tyreek Hill or even Jameson Williams , whom Johnson oversaw the drafting of while with the Lions, his 4.28 40 time and toughness with the ball in his hands is tantalizing (if he can consistently catch it). Of course, that’s the thing: looking good in OTAs and minicamp, or even the first few days of training camp, doesn’t guarantee success. As a former Patriots beat reporter, I’ve watched Tyquan Thornton show signs of production in minicamp and training camp, only to eventually disappear and get traded away from the team. And while he looks like a more traditionally functional player than Velus Jones Jr., it’s hard to completely disregard that comparison. Speed always pops when the pads aren’t on and no one can hit you. But when it’s time to run real routes and beat coverage not just with physicality but with nuance and technical skill, can Thomas do that? His college stats, in addition to him being (generously) sixth on the pass-catching pecking order in the early going with this roster, suggest we shouldn’t be expecting some Rookie-of-the-Year-level breakout from him. Then again, I don’t think the Chicago Bears need or want that from him at all. Even if he’s nowhere near ready to be a third or fourth option at this stage in his career, just putting him on the field will make defenses think. Depending on what he does in training camp and in preseason games, getting the ball in his hands with schemed touches once or twice a game feels reasonable to keep opponents honest. The bottom line: let’s keep the expectations low for Thomas as a rookie—draft pedigree be damned—and give Johnson’s forward-thinking vision a chance to work. As we saw with Burden last year, sometimes it’s best to get a talented player before you need him. That way, you won’t find yourself regretting not swinging when you had the chance. If there’s a
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Let’s move on with our third name on our list of the ten Chicago Bears with the most to prove in 2026. If you missed the first two installments, number 10 was punter Tory Taylor , number 9 was left tackle Braxton Jones . Number 8 is wide receiver Rome Odunze. Odunze certainly has not been bad in his first two seasons in Chicago, but he certainly hasn’t shown many signs of being the elite WR1 that the Bears expected him to be when they spent the ninth overall pick on him in 2024. Rome saw his yards per game increase in 2025 from 43 in 2024 to 55. And his yards per catch also increased from 13.6 to 15.0. Odunze also doubled his touchdown output from 3 to 6. While those numbers look like something to build on (and they are), there are also some concerning numbers as well. Odunze’s success rate did not improve at all and remained comfortably below 50% at 45.6%, and the most alarming number was that his catch rate dropped from a poor 53.5% in 2024 to an even worse 48.9% in 2025. Odunze’s success rate was 111th in the NFL. His catch rate was 190th out of 197 players. Again, Odunze’s catch rate was 190th out of 197 players. Caleb’s passer rating when he targeted Odunze was 81.8, placing him 154th among those 197 players. For comparison, Colston Loveland ’s passer rating was 121.6, Luther Burden’s was 123.1, and DJ Moore ’s was 103.2. Even Jahdae Walker ’s was 127.9. So while some of Odunze’s numbers improved last year, the efficiency with which he got those numbers was honestly woeful. There needs to be significant improvement from Odunze this year in this offense. Odunze did play through injuries at points last season, including a stress fracture, and that may have been a factor, but regardless of what other factors may have led to some of these numbers, they need to vastly improve in 2026. What does Odunze need to improve on this year to increase those productivity numbers? First of all, it would certainly help if Odunze were largely healthy this year. If he’s not, that would be two straight years dealing with injury issues, and that opens up another can of questions. Second, he needs to squeeze the football. Odunze needs to catch the ball better. He struggled with dropping the football, and his hands simply need to be more reliable. From a playing perspective, Antwaan Randle-El has talked about wanting better route running from Rome Odunze, and all of Caleb Williams ’ receivers need to be better in the scramble drill when Caleb goes off-book and tries to improvise. Even if Odunze improves this year, there’s a good chance that he falls to the third option in the offense behind Burden and Loveland. Keep in mind, last year Odunze led the team in targets despite missing 5 games. If Odunze’s role diminishes in the offense, the Bears may have a tough choice deciding if they want to pick up his fifth-year option after next season. Odunze’s salary would be somewhere between $20 and $24 million on that option. When you use a top ten pick on a player, the expectation has to be that the player receives a second contract with the team that drafted him. If Odunze doesn’t greatly improve this year, that contract will be in jeopardy. Now, before we decline Odunze’s fifth-year option and kick him off the team after the 2027 season, let’s be clear: Odunze may have struggled last year, but he missed games and played hurt during the back half of the season when the Bears’ offense started clicking. He has shown promise at points during his first two seasons, and this is only his second year with Ben Johnson. There are plenty of reasons to still be positive about Odunze’s outlook in Chicago, but there are reasons for concern as well. It may only be two seasons, but I’m at a point where I don’t think Odunze has WR1 stuff. I haven’t seen electric speed, dynamic jump ball ability, or fabulous catches that great wide receivers traditionally make. Odunze plays more like a reliable WR2, and that may be all Chicago needs him to be. If Lovela
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The Chicago Bears are being described as the coolest team in franchise history since the 1985 Super Bowl squad. This newfound 'coolness' is attributed to quarterback Caleb Williams, who has garnered significant attention, including a Madden cover appearance, and head coach Matt Eberflus, known for his aggressive approach. Key players like Luther Burden III, Colston Loveland, and Kyle Monangai are also highlighted for their exciting play styles
While some teams are trading for future HOF defensive ends, most of us are existing in the doldrums of the offseason. Join us in our quest to provide the best Bears centered topics around. Our next topic? Mine is easy – my former college teammate Brandon Marshall who set the franchise record for most receiving yards (1,508) and receptions (118) in single season. If you have been around here long enough, you more than likely have seen me talk about how Brandon started at safety in college the year I was on the team and led the team in tackles. He was a freight train standing 6’5” and weighing 230lb playing safety and I was a walk-on, scout team RB. I could tell stories of taking a hit from Brandon in the B gap that I felt for days or somehow catching a wheel route with him in coverage despite not being able to see the ball until the last nano-second, but this article is about his WR play. After starting his career in Denver with Jay Cutler , B-Marsh reunited with Cutty in Chicago in 2012 and immediately broke records. Brandon played the position like a LB and it showed in his run after catch and blocking ability. Here he is laying out former All-Pro Sean Lee with a clean block. And here he is seen high-pointing the football, stiff arming defenders and plucking the ball in tight-coverage. Though he was not drafted by Chicago and he was only a Bear for three seasons, Brandon Marshall averaged 93 catches for 1,175 yards and 10 TDs a season as a Bear. Only Alshon Jeffery, Darnell Mooney and DJ Moore have come close to those numbers since, and most of them only one time. While Tom Waddle, Curtis Conway, Rome Odunze and now Luther Burden III all drew considerations here, Brandon was a helluva Bear and embraced the city and rivalry with the best of them. His off-the-field issues have been scrutinized for years but as a pure WR to ever don orange and blue, none brought me more joy and excitement to watch than B-Marsh. Brandon, if you read this, hit me up so we can get you on our podcast!
The 2026 NFL season is a few months away, and the anticipation for week one is at an extremely high level. As the NFL Network has done their player consensus Top 100 ranking each year, Windy City Gridiron’s staff has put together a roundtable over the last few seasons of the best players in the NFC North. With six contributors pitching in for this year’s roundtable, there was a strong diversity of opinions that provided for some entertaining rankings. Before we get started, let’s set up the ground rules. Each WCG participant was asked to send their top 32 players in the NFC North. A player’s ranking determined how many points they would receive (32 points for first, 31 points for second, etc.), and the total points were added up to create the rankings. Note: Tiebreakers will be broken by whichever player appeared on more ballots. If that total is the same, then the tiebreaker will go to whichever player received the highest ranking on an individual ballot. If that scenario also does not result in a clear winner, ballot organizer Jacob Infante will break the tie. 11. Bears CB Jaylon Johnson 12. Bears TE Colston Loveland 13. Lions S Brian Branch 14. Packers S Xavier McKinney 15. Packers OT Zach Tom 16. Vikings OT Christian Darrisaw 17. Packers TE Tucker Kraft 18. Vikings EDGE Andrew Van Ginkel 19. Lions LB Jack Campbell 20. Lions S Kerby Joseph 21. Lions TE Sam LaPorta 22. Packers QB Jordan Love 23. Lions WR Jameson Williams 24. Packers RB Josh Jacobs 25. Bears EDGE Montez Sweat 26. Packers LB Edgerrin Cooper 27. Bears S Coby Bryant 28. Bears LB Devin Bush 29. Bears CB Kyler Gordon 30. Vikings OT Brian O’Neill 31. Vikings WR Jordan Addison 32. Bears G Jonah Jackson 33. Bears WR Luther Burden III 34. Bears WR Rome Odunze 35. Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson 36. Bears S Dillon Thieneman 37. Packers WR Jayden Reed 38. Vikings LB Blake Cashman 39. Lions DT Alim McNeill 40. Lions OT Blake Miller 41. Vikings WR Jauan Jennings 42. Bears RB D’Andre Swift 43. Packers WR Christian Watson 44. Packers DT Javon Hargrave 45. Vikings G Will Fries 46. Lions CB D.J. Reed Jr. 47. Packers DT Devonte Wyatt 48. Lions G Tate Ratledge 49. Packers LB Zaire Franklin 50. Vikings CB James Pierre Highest Ranking: 10 (Wiltfong) Last Year’s Ranking : No. 16 A Pro Bowler in three of his last four seasons, Jared Goff’s 18,206 passing yards since 2022 are the most of any quarterback in the NFL. He’s been consistently accurate for the Lions, surpassing at least a 65.0% completion percentage every season since his arrival in Detroit in 2021. He’s also graded in the top eight in PFSN QB Impact Scoring each of his last four seasons, with 2022 being the year that Ben Johnson became his offensive coordinator. Though the Lions took a step back with the departure of Johnson, Aaron Glenn, and numerous other coaches, Goff was as reliable as they came last year. Highest Ranking: 1 (Gooch) Last Year’s Ranking: No. 39 The first-place finish from Donald Gooch is enough to propel Caleb Williams into the top 10 of this list, but Williams would still finish high in these rankings with the love he got from other WCG voters. He finished in the top 10 in the NFL with 3,942 passing yards and 27 passing touchdowns, leading the league with six fourth-quarter comebacks and tying for the second-most game-winning drives at six. As he continues to develop, an even higher ranking could be in the cards for Williams next year. Highest Ranking: 7 (Orenchuk, Baugher, Mongo) Last Year’s Ranking: No. 20 Darnell Wright receives a much-deserved jump from 2024 to 2025, as he earned the first All-Pro recognition of his career last season. He allowed a career-low three sacks and 19 pressures on 638 pass-blocking snaps in 2025, solidifying himself as one of the best right tackles in the NFL. If he can cut down on penalties — he’s had 31 in his three seasons with the Bears — there’s no reason to think he can’t remain among the league’s elite for a long time
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The 2026 NFL season is a few months away, and the anticipation for week one is at an extremely high level. As the NFL Network has done their player consensus Top 100 ranking each year, Windy City Gridiron’s staff has put together a roundtable over the last few seasons of the best players in the NFC North. With six contributors pitching in for this year’s roundtable, there was a strong diversity of opinions that provided for some entertaining rankings. Before we get started, let’s set up the ground rules. Each WCG participant was asked to send their top 32 players in the NFC North. A player’s ranking determined how many points they would receive (32 points for first, 31 points for second, etc.), and the total points were added up to create the rankings. Note: Tiebreakers will be broken by whichever player appeared on more ballots. If that total is the same, then the tiebreaker will go to whichever player received the highest ranking on an individual ballot. If that scenario also does not result in a clear winner, ballot organizer Jacob Infante will break the tie. 21. Lions TE Sam LaPorta 22. Packers QB Jordan Love 23. Lions WR Jameson Williams 24. Packers RB Josh Jacobs 25. Bears EDGE Montez Sweat 26. Packers LB Edgerrin Cooper 27. Bears S Coby Bryant 28. Bears LB Devin Bush 29. Bears CB Kyler Gordon 30. Vikings OT Brian O’Neill 31. Vikings WR Jordan Addison 32. Bears G Jonah Jackson 33. Bears WR Luther Burden III 34. Bears WR Rome Odunze 35. Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson 36. Bears S Dillon Thieneman 37. Packers WR Jayden Reed 38. Vikings LB Blake Cashman 39. Lions DT Alim McNeill 40. Lions OT Blake Miller 41. Vikings WR Jauan Jennings 42. Bears RB D’Andre Swift 43. Packers WR Christian Watson 44. Packers DT Javon Hargrave 45. Vikings G Will Fries 46. Lions CB D.J. Reed Jr. 47. Packers DT Devonte Wyatt 48. Lions G Tate Ratledge 49. Packers LB Zaire Franklin 50. Vikings CB James Pierre Highest Ranking: 14 (Mongo) Last Year’s Ranking : No. 8 Kerby Joseph only appeared in six games last year due to injury, which makes it all the more impressive he still had three interceptions in 2025. He’s allowed a sub-60.0% completion rate in coverage each of his last three seasons, and he has a career allowed passer rating of just 66.2. There are concerns about his health heading into the new year, but when healthy, he’s one of the best safeties in the NFL. Highest Ranking: 9 (Wiltfong) Last Year’s Ranking: No. 47 Coming off the best year of his NFL career, Jack Campbell has had an eventful 12 months with a Pro Bowl appearance, a first-team All-Pro nomination, and most importantly, a big rise up these rankings. Campbell had 176 tackles in 17 games with 5.0 sacks, 9.0 tackles for a loss, and three forced fumbles. He ranked No. 3 in the NFL in PFSN LB Impact Scoring with a career high 90.7 score. Highest Ranking: 10 (Orenchuk) Last Year’s Ranking: No. 17 It’s slightly surprising we’ve gone this long without one, but Andrew Van Ginkel marks the first player to appear in all six of the WCG ballots. He had 11.5 sacks in 2024 for the Vikings, and though he missed five games due to injury, he still had 7.0 sacks last year. Additionally, his 10 pass deflections last season led all defensive linemen across the NFL. He’s an impact player in every sense of the word. Highest Ranking: 13 (Mongo) Last Year’s Ranking: No. 48 Before suffering a season-ending injury halfway through the year, Tucker Kraft was on pace for an All-Pro nod in 2025. His 61.1 receiving yards per game was the second-highest average among all NFL tight ends, and he led his position with a 90.9 PFSN TE Impact Score . He’s consistently improved over his three seasons in the league, and one could certainly argue that he’s not just the best weapon on the Packers’ offense right now, but one of the best tight ends in the game. Highest Ranking: 9 (Mongo) Last Year’s Ranking: No. 11 Over his last two seasons, Christian Darrisaw has missed a combined [... truncated ...]
This WCG roundtable series was inspired by this Tweet from our guy Jacob, who gave six 2026 Chicago Bears superlatives for the offseason. We’re going to take them one by one, and we’ll give a couple two tree sentences for each. This time, we gave our pick for the Bears player we predict to break out in 2026. Jacob Infante: Luther Burden was already a top-10 receiver in the NFL in terms of YAC per catch and yards per route run as a rookie. As he continues to become more confident in the route concepts of Ben Johnson’s offense, I think he’ll become a 1,000-yard receiver in 2026. Sam Householder: Austin Booker – I think the Bears are putting a lot on him to step up with their lack of moves on the DL. I’m not saying it’s fair, and I’m not saying Booker is going to reach 8 or 9 sacks. I’m just saying the table is set for him. Josh Sunderbruch: Jordan van den Berg – The defense needs players to step up, and he has that potential. Erik Duerrwaechter: Luther Burden III – For the same reasons I mentioned with Rome Odunze , Luther Burden III also has a tremendous chance to stake his claim as a top receiver in the NFL. Unlike Rome Odunze, the pressure isn’t on Luther Burden III to be the difference maker, and instead, he can simply take advantage of the opportunities he’ll receive against coverages when defenders are focused more elsewhere. As we saw with Colston Loveland last season, Luther Burden III saw a big jump in production during the second half of last season. I feel that will only continue as he’s freed up to make plays all over the field. Ryan Droste: Austin Booker – The Bears need a huge leap from their edge rushers this year, and I think Booker will answer the call. He looked really good in spurts last year, and I think this year he breaks out and helps solidify the pass rush. Plus, Green Bay hates him, and that’s always nice. Donald Gooch: Austin Booker – He only played ten games and had two sacks eliminated by penalties. Projected over a full season with those sacks, Booker would have posted a 10+ sack season in 2025. I am extremely bullish on him, and if reports that he has added some good weight in the offseason are true, I expect Booker to be the undisputed RDE starter for the Bears on the back of an actual 10+ sack season in 2026. Bryan Orenchuk: Rome Odunze – L argely forgotten after the breakout rookie seasons that Loveland, Burden III, and Monangai had, Rome was on a league-leading tear last season before injury. With Caleb fine-tuned a bit more and Rome healthy, I expect Odunze to be discussed in legit WR1 conversations league-wide after this year. Jeff Berckes: What does it mean to truly “breakout”? I’m not sure, but I’ll say this – by the end of the season, Colston Loveland will be widely considered a top 3 TE. He’s going to be a superstar. Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.: Austin Booker made a jump last season after learning how to string some pass-rush moves together, and I expect another jump for the 23-year-old in 2o26. “He’s another one that missed some time last year,” head coach ben Johnson said of Booker, “and I think the more the more time on task we have (as a) coaching staff, how we’re coaching things, I think it’s just going to add up. He’s still a young player. He’s still developing. His body’s changed since he came in the building a year ago, from where we ended the season, even until when he came back in for the spring program, he continues to add more mass. Stronger player, gets smarter as we go and I think the coaching is really going to be conducive to his style of play as well. Who is your pick for the Bears breakout candidate?
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