The Chicago Bears are planning to build off last year’s first-place finish in the NFC North. The Bears demonstrated significant growth last year under head coach Ben Johnson, and the key was the development of QB Caleb Williams and his performance in the late stages of the season’s most crucial games.
Outside observers may look at the Bears and believe that the team got lucky on a number of occasions, but Johnson is not the kind of coach who is dependent on outside breaks. Instead, he is a demanding and tough leader who is never satisfied, and that means the Bears should be even hungrier in 2026 than they were a year ago.
Much will be dependent on improvement from the defense — and that could be a questionable development. They also need a running game that will take at least some pressure off of Williams.
However, the key to their success is the passing game. The Bears no longer have D.J. Moore to serve as the team’s go-to wideout. He has moved on to the Buffalo Bills and will likely become Josh Allen’s top threat. Instead, the Bears have Luther Burden III and Rome Odunze to battle for the role of the team’s top wide receiver. While that is going on, tight ends Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet will also engage in a duel at tight end.
In this piece, we look at the strengths that each of the wideouts and the tight ends bring to Johnson’s offensive scheme.
Odunze has the inside track on the top WR spot
The Bears selected Odunze out of Washington shortly after making Williams the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Odunze was also a first-round selection, as he was selected with the 9th overall pick. He has the size, strength and highly developed skill set to become a dominant wideout in one of the most dangerous offenses in the NFL
Odunze should have the inside track to take over from Moore as the team’s primary wideout. Moore was traded in the offseason, in part because the Bears have full faith in Odunze and Burden to make the key downfield plays this season.
The 6-3, 215-pound Odunze has been effective to this point in his career but he has not been dominant. The Bears need him to get to that level this season.
He caught 54 of 101 targets during his rookie season for 734 yards and 3 touchdowns. His numbers were fairly similar last season, as he caught 44 of 90 targets for 661 yards but he did raise his TD total to six. He has not had a reception longer than 47 yards, and that is probably an indication that Burden will have a chance to move ahead of him at some point in training camp or perhaps during the season.
Burden has the intangibles that could work in his favor
Burden had a much higher percentage of receptions to targets than Odunze. He was targeted 60 times by Williams and he caught 47-652-2. He also had a long reception of 65 yards. As he moves into his second year, a significant improvement can be expected.
It seems quite likely that Odunze and Burden will push each other this summer. Odunze must find a way to catch a higher percentage of his targets and find a way to match the hunger that Burden demonstrated when he got his hands on the ball. Burden showed that he was going to battle for every inch every time he got his hands on the ball. He had 334 yards after the catch (YAC), compared to 214 for Odunze.
There is little doubt that Johnson will favor the tougher and hungrier receiver, and Odunze has to step up in that area throughout the summer.
Johnson will have significant use of 2-TE formations
Going into training camp, the Bears have two excellent tight ends in Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet.
It may appear that Loveland is the better receiving tight end while Kmet can do all the dirty work, but that’s not necessarily the case. Loveland led the Bears with 58 catches last year and he had 713 yards along with 6 TDs, while Kmet was fifth behind Moore, Odunze and Burden last season. He caught 30-347-2 and he does not appear to be as explosive a breakaway threat as Loveland.
However, Kmet has excellent hands, knows how to get open and blocks well in the running game. Loveland is faster and can do more damage on intermediate and long routes that Kmet. He is also a solid blocker, although he may not be as sturdy in that area as Kmet.
Johnson loves to use multiple tight ends in his offensive sets and that should allow both Loveland and Kmet to have a significant impact again this season.
The Chicago Bears are planning to build off last year’s first-place finish in the NFC North. The Bears demonstrated significant growth last year under head coach Ben Johnson, and the key was the development of QB Caleb Williams and his performance in the late stages of the season’s most crucial games.
