The best play of Bears practice Saturday was the final one.
Taking the snap at the 10 in a two-minute drill, quarterback Caleb Williams zipped a pass into the end zone between safeties Dillon Thieneman and Anthony Johnson. Wide receiver Rome Odunze leapt, landed and tapped both feet just inside the back line for a touchdown. His teammates went nuts.
The mood was decidedly heavier earlier in practice, when Luther Burden limped off the field with a trainer and did not return. Burden was matched up in one-on-one drills against cornerback Tyrique Stevenson about 45 minutes into practice. Williams threw a pass just beyond the front right pylon of the end zone. Burden leapt and fell to the ground; Burden extended his right leg forward as he jumped, but never fell to the ground.
Both were banged up. Stevenson stretched his hip and groin area and remained in practice and in good spirits, though he came out of a team drill later. Burden, though, knelt down, then stood up and limped off with a trainer. He seemed to be favoring his left leg or groin area.
Even during a training camp which each day produces a new spate of injuries, Burden’s availability will be a big deal. The Bears need him — and Odunze. They might not have much else.
Taken as a whole, the Bears have one of the most impressive pass-catching groups in the NFL. Running back D’Andre Swift has been, statistically, the fourth-best pass-catching receiver in the NFL since being drafted in 2020. Colston Loveland might be a top-five pass-catching tight end in only his second season. Cole Kmet averaged a career-best 11.6 yards per catch last year.
The wide receiver group, though, has more question marks than either the running back or tight end rooms.
Odunze and Burden are young and promising — but neither has ever eclipsed even 750 yards in a season.
Odunze missed five regular season games last season — and was limited in others — because of a foot injury. At the start of training camp, Odunze tried to walk back his own declaration that he was facing a “new normal.” Until his foot can withstand the rigors of weekly games, his durability will remain a concern. He’s looked explosive in practice — and, more importantly, hasn’t missed a snap.
Burden has been lauded all offseason by his coach, general manager and teammates. Coach Ben Johnson has even compared him to Jarvis Landry and Amon-Ra St. Brown — who have nine Pro Bowls between them. Those are lofty expectations for a second-year player who played just 40% of the Bears’ downs last year.
Burden’s knowledge of the playbook far exceeds where he was last season, when his second-half emergence helped propel the Bears into the playoffs. His conditioning is better. Make no mistake, though — he needs to take a significant leap to land where the coaches believe he’ll be.
Their third receiver, Kalif Raymond, is mentoring younger receivers and wowing them with his speed. But he hasn’t even reached 300 yards in either of the past two seasons.
Raymond catches 205 passes from a pitching machine every day, in part because St. Brown, his old Lions teammate, used to catch 202. The Bears’ young receivers are following his example.
“I learned that this game is very, very, very hard,” Raymond said. “So, why not give back to see somebody else kind of skip the stuff that you kind of had to go through the valleys for?”
The rest of the room is full of question marks. Jahdae Walker has had a strong camp — he made a spectacular touchdown catch Saturday — but he didn’t garner serious playing time until Week 16 last year and has just 10 career catches.
Walker knows how to bide his time — he had to wait his turn after transferring from Grand Valley State to Texas A&M in 2023.
“I’ve been patient my whole life,” he said. “Just being ready when my number’s called.”
Zavion Thomas is a rookie. The Bears love his elite speed and versatility, but he’s yet to prove anything.
“I’m not doing the right thing, anybody tell me,” he said. “I know how to take coaching. I know it’s coming from a good place.”
Scotty Miller is the only receiver left in the room with a legitimate NFL resume — but the Barrington High School has averaged only 10 catches a year for the past five seasons. J.P. Richardson is having a solid camp, but he’s never taken a snap in a game. Maurice Alexander’s one NFL catch came in 2022. Kaden Davis was signed away from the UFL. Kyron Hudson got hurt Saturday.
Johnson’s offense is democratic. Bears receivers won’t be fighting with each other for the ball, but, rather, with running backs and tight ends, too.
Still, the Bears better hope Odunze and Burden make the leap they’re hoping for. And that they stay healthy enough to take the field.