The following is the third of nine position previews in advance of training camp.
Highlighting the Bears' receiving corps are Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III, two key playmakers and trusted targets for quarterback Caleb Williams.
Burden and Odunze finished the 2025 season with the third- and fourth-highest receiving totals, respectively, behind DJ Moore, who was traded to the Bills, and tight end Colston Loveland.
Odunze was limited by a foot injury throughout his sophomore campaign, but started the year strong, becoming the first Bears player to score a touchdown in each of the first four games of a season since Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton in 1986. He was also the only NFL player to have a TD reception in each of the first four contests in 2025.
While Odunze missed the final five regular-season games, he returned for the playoffs and totaled four receptions for 88 yards in the Bears' two postseason contests, including a catch that was one of the most memorable plays of the season. While trailing 27-16 in the fourth quarter against the Packers, Odunze caught a 27-yard pass from Williams on fourth-and-8 to sustain the drive which ultimately helped lead the Bears to an improbable comeback victory.
After spending the early part of the offseason returning to full strength, Odunze was a full participant in the Bears' offseason program this spring and is eager to "be the best receiver possible for this team" in 2026.
"I feel like for me, I'm trying to be excellent in every single category of wide receiver," Odunze said. "Route running, releases, catching the football. There's areas of improvement in every single rep out there that it's hard to pinpoint one thing. I want to do everything excellent. So, I'm trying to improve on all those different packages all at once, because I feel like I'm capable of doing that."
Few players garnered as much attention during the offseason program this year as Burden. In the midst of OTAs at the end of May, coach Ben Johnson told reporters: "I'm buying Luther Burden stock right now."
"Just how he's approached his offseason," Johnson continued, "it's been electric. He had numerous explosive plays. I loved how in Phase 2, he was finishing every single rep that he took.
"He's still developing and growing his route tree. Coach [Antwaan Randle] El and [offensive quality control coach] Isaiah Ford — they've done a phenomenal job with him working to develop those things. Speed cuts to sharp breaks, releases, things of that nature. He's been extremely coachable. I'm really happy with him."
During the second half of his rookie season, Burden ascended to become a versatile weapon in Johnson's offense, exhibiting playmaking ability and excellent run-after-catch skills. He averaged 4.3 catches for 60.1 yards in his final eight regular-season contests and had his best performance Dec. 28 in San Francisco when he caught eight passes for 138 yards, including a 35-yard TD.
Burden finished the season with 47 receptions for 652 yards and two scores, averaging a team-leading 13.9 yards per catch. He also had the Bears' longest reception of the season — a 65-yard flea-flicker touchdown in a Week 3 win over the Cowboys.
"I think when we drafted him, we saw an explosive athlete who was really dangerous with the ball in his hands," Johnson said. "The question was how can we get it in his hands? The easy things to do are screens or short throws. But I think there's a lot more to his game that we've worked to unlock, and he's been really receptive to how we can get that done."
The Bears also added a pair of weapons to the receivers room this offseason in vetera Kalif Raymond and rookie Zavion Thomas.
Raymond, a versatile receiver and return specialist, previously played for Johnson's in Detroit, where the pair spent four seasons together when Johnson was Detroit's passing game coordinator (2021) and offensive coordinator (2022-24).
Last season with the Lions, Raymond played in 15 games with three starts and had 24 receptions for 289 yards and a TD. He also returned 32 punts for 241 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown.
"You wouldn't know looking at him right now that he's 31, going on 32," Johnson said. "He has this vertical push to his game where he comes raging off the football, and if you're a DB you can't help but back up and that carries over with all the routes that he runs. I think it's been really good for our young route runners to see because it's really what we want to see across the board. He's been exactly what we hoped for when he came into the building. It's as good as I've seen him in the spring, based on my time with him over the last five years.
"He's got fresh legs, he's hungry, he's highly motivated right now. There's a lot that he can do in the offensive game. He's not a gadget guy, but he's unique in his ability to have enough speed to take it over the top, make defenses hurt that way, but also inside the numbers, outside the numbers, he's got elite quickness. You get the ball in his hands, he's excellent in run after catch. So he's very, very versatile and I think he's going to be a huge part of what we do."
The 89th overall pick in the draft, Thomas caught the Bears' attention with his speed and versatility that he displayed last year at LSU and previously at Mississippi State. In 2025, Thomas caught 41 passes for 488 yards and four TDs, rushed for 99 yards and one TD on 19 carries and averaged 9.0 yards on 17 punt returns.
Throughout May and June, Thomas routinely displayed his blazing speed — he ran a 4.28 in the 40 at the NFL Combine — and began adapting to the culture and expectations of Johnson and the Bears.
"He tends to make a play almost every single day right now that says, 'okay, 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,'" Johnson said in June. "But that's what we're trying to harness right now. I think coach El and Isaiah are doing a phenomenal job with him and the rest of the room and getting him up to speed and challenging him. I think he's developing the work ethic that we expect not only from a receiver, but from anyone on offense, or the team."
Also in the mix to be a contributor this season is Jahdae Walker, who joined the Bears last spring as an undrafted rookie out of Texas A&M. His infectious energy and work ethic solidified him a depth spot on the 53-man roster and, when called upon late in the season, Walker delivered.
Walker's six receptions, 87 yards and two touchdowns all came in the final three regular-season games. He played an integral role in the Bears' Week 16 overtime victory against the Packers, catching the game-tying touchdown on fourth-and-4 with 24 seconds remaining in regulation. The score, the first of his NFL career, forced overtime and ultimately led to the Bears' thrilling 22-16 win.
"We see what he does every single week," Johnson said after the win over Green Bay. "We see how he goes about his business. There's a reason why we didn't want to expose him to the waiver wire and someone poach him after the preseason. We see a bright future for this guy. He's done nothing but steadily improve over the course of the season. The coaches trust him. Caleb trusts him."
Other receivers who will compete for a roster spot in training camp include returners Maurice Alexander and JP Richardson, incoming veterans Scotty Miller and Kaden Davis as well as undrafted rookies Kyron Hudson and Omari Kelly.
