Bears First Two Draft Picks Shining in Training Camp
The Chicago Bears will be busy this offseason under a new coaching staff led by Ben Johnson. A lot of their work, however, would be done in the NFL Draft, where the Bears are seemingly now reaping the rewards. They would first draft tight end Colston Loveland with their 10th overall pick in the first round. The former Michigan Wolverine scored 11 total touchdowns in three seasons in college, and will now be the Bears’ second weapon at the tight end position alongside Cole Kmet. Chicago’s next pick would come in round two with the 39th overall pick, where they would select wide receiver Luther Burden III. He would have an impressive college career at Mizzou, totaling 2,263 yards and 21 touchdowns in three years. As both players are currently working through their first NFL training camp, they have begun to make noise and potentially become game-changers for the 2025 season.
In just the past couple of days, Burden has flashed in training camp. He would have a tough practice just days before his impressive performances, where Johnson would pull him from a drill for failing to line up properly. Since that day, Burden would go on to respond with spectacular catches and blazing quick speed. Johnson’s decision to pull him from the drill would work as a wake-up call for Burden, who would realize he always needs to be ready. “I feel like I’ve got to know my stuff,” Burden said. “He holds everybody to a high standard here. It’s great for us, great for the team, and that’s the standard here.”
Loveland has also impressed so far throughout his first training camp. Coming into Chicago, the biggest topic of discussion surrounding the former Wolverine was his role alongside Kmet. Both players have been able to find ways to make an impact throughout camp despite essentially competing with each other. Loveland has become a reliable option for quarterbackCaleb Williams, finding ways to get open with his quick speed despite being a bigger player. “You can put him all over the place, in line to outside the numbers [or] slot, I think you can move him around quite a bit,” said Johnson. “He’s such a large target that if you put it somewhere close to him, he will find a way to come down with it.” As training camp is coming to a close and the 2025 season is just weeks away, Loveland and Burden are looking to shine in their rookie seasons.
