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- A WR Mystery Remains Unsolved
Incorporating postseason play into future analysis always presents an understandable challenge based on sample size alone. Like most problems, the answer’s probably somewhere in the middle. Don’t overweigh it, but completely handwaving playoff performance, especially utilization, is missing a fantasy forest for the trees. Remember, trust but always verify.
One spot in particular that spun me right-round, baby, right-round, all year is the Chicago wide receiver room, which I entered 2025 very high on.
Given the raw talent plus the arrival of megamind Ben Johnson pulling the switch, what could go wrong? Short answer wound up being everything—Caleb Williams was fine, but Bear WRs accounted for just two top-five positional finishes during the entire regular season. Yikes.
So I figured, why not take a whack at this Gordian knot for results while the information’s still fresh …
Chicago’s Top WR Mystery Remains Unsolved, Moore Or Less …
No sooner than fantasy gamers assumed witness to a changing of the guard and our final answer to the Bears’ WR1 situation, Ben Johnson pulls the playoff rug. Shocker. Lying on my back, I’m now kicking myself over how hard it’s been to nail down all year.
Rome Odunze came flying out of the box, leading the team in targets each of Chicago’s first four contests, but it was never going to be that easy. We knew the Windy City’s snowglobe would get shaken with increased playing time for Luther Burden—who didn’t disappoint, to the tune of a ridiculous 2.71 yards per route run in his first year—and more on his dynasty outlook later.
Of course, Odunze winds up getting hurt just as Burden’s natural ascension began, distorting the second-rounder’s Week 13-17 breakout. And mind you, this is all going on without mentioning Colston Loveland’s meteoric rise whatsoever, or the fact that every-down player DJ Moore (who’s under a long-term contract) underperformed as the overall WR40 in fantasy points per game.
Don’t you just hate when answers seem to get further away the more you work at them?
The Bears’ weekly target distribution chart reminds me of one of those old Magic Eye doohickies—maybe a little too much the more I think about it, because I don’t see a thing popping off the page (if I dated myself with that reference, check it out for a good time). Anyway, since Week 11, all four of Chicago’s starting wideouts (including Olamide Zaccheaus) led the team in opportunities at least once, and no one’s accomplished it solo more than twice.
Honestly, if what we saw from Chicago’s WRs at full strength in Saturday’s Wild Card game is any indication, we’re in for a fantasy GM’s nightmare in 2026. I can hear it now, “but John, three different Bear WRs earned 6+ targets and two of them scored touchdowns. How can you not be bullish?” Fine, volume was there, but Caleb dropped back 52 times! You can’t project that weekly—it’s exactly why we use rate calculations.
Not a single WR earned more than 15% of the team's target share or gained more than 1.4 yards per route against the Packers. And as if that wasn’t frustrating enough, Zaccheaus still racked up nearly a quarter of two-WR routes. Like it or not, without injury, there’s a great chance none of these CHI WRs return a profit next year.
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Dynasty
Luther Burden Upgrades to Top-12 WR in Dynasty
Sure, Laghezza may see some challenges with this Bears WR room in 2026, but as we shift our attention to the offseason and all its upcoming events (Combine, NFL Draft, etc), Sam Wallace has made some adjustments to his dynasty fantasy football rankings—thinking even more long term …
Here are some of his biggest takeaways and how he’s approaching these players and situations in the weeks and months ahead.
Luther Burden, WR - Bears
The Chicago Bears might have gotten one of the biggest steals of the 2025 NFL Draft when they snagged Luther Burden early in the second round (39th overall). As of this writing, he's currently my WR11.
The Ben Johnson/Caleb Williams pairing is paying off in a big way. If the Bears can ever figure out how to get out quickly and start games faster, instead of needing all these fourth-quarter comebacks, they could become one of the most dangerous offenses in the league.
Chicago is deep at every offensive skill position, but Burden rapidly surfaced as the go-to option in the receiver room over the final weeks of the season. Despite his slow start, he averaged 6 targets per game over his final seven contests.
DJ Moore and Rome Odunze are more than capable in their own right, but Burden profiles as the alpha of the room and should be treated as such both by Johnson/Williams and dynasty managers everywhere.
The general consensus still values Odunze over Burden, which means there's a great chance to make a profitable move. If you can flip Odunze for Burden plus a future draft pick (even a late one), or make a larger deal with different pieces, that's definitely something to consider.
I'd even suggest making a move for Burden before he has a massive playoff performance and more eyes are on the Bears this weekend.
Fantasy
Let’s have some Friday fun with Fantasy Life Trivia. Though before we get into today’s question, let’s reveal yesterday’s answer:
Q: With his win over the Jaguars on Sunday, Josh Allen moves to 8-1 against quarterbacks not named Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow in the playoffs. Who is the only other quarterback to pick up a win against Allen in the playoffs, which happened in his first playoff outing back in the 2019 season?
A: Deshaun Watson. Remember when Watson was actually good at football? The Texans managed to secure a three-point overtime victory vs. the Bills in Allen’s first career playoff outing, with Watson racking up 247 passing yards, 55 rushing yards and 2 total touchdowns. Allen is a perfect 2-0 against Lamar Jackson in the postseason, including a win over the Ravens last year, while he picked up his first postseason win against Philip Rivers and the Colts. Sadly, we never got a showdown between Allen and Tom Brady in the playoffs, but that would’ve been awesome.
Now Time For Friday Fantasy Life Trivia
Q: Christian McCaffrey continued his dominant year as a receiver, catching 2 touchdowns in the 49ers’ upset over the Eagles in the Wild Card Round. The last time a running back caught multiple touchdowns in a playoff game was in 2019, when this running back did it for the Chiefs:
Fantasy
Around The Watercooler
The latest fantasy and NFL gossip, news, memes and more from our merry band of football nerds …
📺 A Divisional Round DFS preview … Pete has the edge on Underdog.
🗣️ Talk Data To Me: Draft best ball teams with Dwain and Freedman.
👀 ICYMI: Dante Moore is OUT of the 2026 class … how does that affect the top of the draft?
🪓 Is JSN or Puka the 1.01 in Divisional Round drafts? You be the judge.
📉 As we said, the dynasty rankings are updated … and one elite WR is falling.
🔮 How does Round III of Seahawks-49ers shape up?
🏈 Meanwhile, Sam Darnold felt “something” in his oblique. Concerned?
🪓 Next round of Guilloteenie waivers runs tomorrow. Get those bids in!
🚨 Giants made a big move. Some big fantasy potential on that team.
🧨 James Cook just might be overdue for an explosive game.
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