What the Chicago Bears NEED From Rome Odunze, Luther Burden & the WR Room in 2026

We got to talk about what we want to see from the Chicago Bears wide receiving core this upcoming season and Caleb Williams being top 10 has some people a little bit upset and I'm okay with that I'll add more today's episode of the Windy City Breeze sports talk daily. Let's go Now if you are new to the channel or just haven't had a chance to do so, please hit that like button Please subscribe to the page do talk Chicago sports daily on this channel It's the only channel talk Chicago sports how Chicago talks to make sure that you stay in tune with us, man. So What we want to see from this Chicago Bears wide receiving core this Upcoming season and this comes from talking with some of the coaches that are up at Hallis Hall Talking with Antoine Randall L who really has the most amount of input on that And I think really just coming off of a season where you felt like you have a lot of up-and-coming Talent at the wide receiver position, but do you have anything solidified? Just yet for me right now We're looking at the big names obviously Roma dunes a Luther Burden and kind of going through each one of those Of course avion Thomas on that list as well and even some of the younger guys who are gonna be fighting for a spot Let's start it off here With Roma dunes. I think that this is the most obvious one right what we want to see from Rome this upcoming season I think it goes beyond just hey, I'm looking for you to be the number one option on the team I think it goes beyond Just hey, I would love to see Roma dunes a be able to go out there and finally solidify that you drafted him at that right spot to me I think it goes to be that trusted player that Caleb Williams needed to get back said hey You got a step away from this and go get healthy that you were at the beginning of the season, right? the injury took a lot away from Rome last year and I think that you know what we saw in the first half of the Season heading into the second half after the injury started to plague him you kind of look at him and go Okay Well which version of Rome is the true version of Rome and there's a version that Caleb Williams said he was like I need you Out here. I need you to get healthy and I need you to go back and I love that Rome was very self-aware when we got a chance to talk to him up at Alice Hall The one thing that really stood out when speaking with Rome was you know He's aware of what the injury did and that he has to adjust his game based off of that I remember talking with him and he said, you know, this is a not saying that he was a hundred percent But that he's a hundred percent comfortable with what his new normal is and to me That's one of the most important things that you can because guess what? You're going to get banged up in this league you're going to have injuries that are going to plague you for the foreseeable future and it seems like the foot is going to be Something that's gonna stick with Rome for time But he really when he focused in on a specific player in Keenan Allen somebody who was there his rookie year We got to work with and he talked about right how Keenan's got that issue with his AC joint I don't know if you've ever noticed it or seen it. There's like a not sticking up on Keenan Allen shoulder that is his AC joint because he didn't ever get it surgically repaired or get it fixed I guess perfectly and so he had to start dealing with the new norm You know what didn't slow Keenan Allen down one bit still a Hall of Fame luck caliber wide receiver still somebody who can go out there and be elite for The the Chargers now that he is back with them And I think that that to me is kind of the conversation that you're going to be having around Rome this upcoming season Can you still be an elite level player knowing that you've got the injury plaguing you? That you're going to have to just get adjusted to and get used to not to say it's gonna be something that is always going To cause him pain, but it's something that he's always going to have to manage So to me get back to being that player that Caleb could count on time and time again that we saw early on in the season because I think Having somebody like that in this wide receiver room is much better than having a number one because that means that hey even in the Worst situations I can find other guys, right that I can count on to throw this football, too But I know that you're still doing your job the right way And I think we saw a little bit of that fade as we got toward the end of the season again Because of the injury not because of anything drastic not because of anything with Rome I think Rome's gonna be just fine this upcoming season But I just want that trust factor to be built up right back to where it was Let me know what you want to see from a room of doing say this season Of course the cash percentage goes into that right? Those are the things that that I think are It's just like when I talked about Caleb in the last one if you haven't checked out the Caleb Williams episode go check that one Out as well. It's just like when I talked about Caleb Williams, right? The 65% completion percentage is something that you want to see Caleb Williams get to or 70% completion percentage It's something you want to see Caleb get to but I think if you do all of that the other things that's just a byproduct of you actually Accomplishing Getting X Y & Z in order right like the 70% completion percentage for Rome right being somebody who can catch 65% of the passes thrown his way of the targets thrown his way at least being above that 50% threshold getting back to being somebody Who is that 50 50 elite wide receiver who came out of college as that right? That's what he was labeled as when he came out of college to me if you like those are byproducts of getting yourself back in a position to where guys trust you to put the ball in your hands in those situations and I Think we saw a little bit when we got to the playoffs, right? Because you saw Caleb who's he throw to in that moment, right? He's throwing it the Roma doomsday when he's rolling out and he's dropping to that left Then he has to flip the hips and get that ball up there. That's going to Rome. It's not going to anyone else so to me I think that that's a by the the catch percentage is a byproduct of getting yourself back into the Conversation of somebody who Caleb can trust profusely that he is going to be able to do his job If you have not done so hit that like button subscribe to the page Alita five-star view Y'all know what to do and I also want to let you guys know if you have not done so go subscribe to at Pat the designer TV on Twitch if you're excited about this football season like I am I am going to be live streaming Every football game that does not conflict with my Bears game day duties Live over on my twitch channel We are trying to get it to the point when we've got about 5,000 people in there live watching football games with us and having phenomenal fun conversations with you guys as well So make sure that you're doing that go subscribe to me on twitch at Pat the designer TV Let me know how you guys feel down in the comments below on Roma doomsday Luther burden I think is another obvious one that has to be brought up here And to me with Luther burden, right the thing that I want to see from him this upcoming season is continue to develop to the point where you are Able to make the most of the targets you're going to get again talking with Rant one where a rant one That's crazy talking with Antoine Randall L and I asked him, you know Okay when you get a chance to You know go out there and and see what this team is able to do when you get a chance to go out there And see what the wide receivers weren't doing on a consistent basis. What's the thing that you come back with it? He brought up how PFF listed them at like 29 drops I think it was last season but the Bears actually had them around like 43 drops last season because of how they consider a drop versus how PFF or whoever it is grading it considers a drop and I think for me with Luther burden the thing that you can take away from his game about making the Most of his opportunities is you can't miss on opportunities I asked him point-blank I was like do you feel like there's gonna be a number one or a number two or it's going to be more like you Saw from last season where you're getting five or six targets and you have to make the most of them And he was like listen, that's the kind of offense that Ben is going to run as wide receivers Do we love that? No, but you know what the difference in getting the job done is When you get those five or six targets if you catch four of them you fight for that extra yard you fight for that extra Little bit that you're gonna have an opportunity Because that could mean money at the end of the day, right like you fight for everything that you have because there's not going to Be 10 to 15 targets most days coming your way because of how many miles there are to feed on this team And so for me with Luther burden, right? Making the most of your opportunities is really what I want to see from him this year and what I mean by that is Luther Is somebody who I think can juke you out of a phone book? Like if he's standing face to face with you and do they still have a phone booth? Do they still have phone booths? If he's standing face to face with you and let's say a closet right he can juke you out of a closet I was trying to think about that. I was like, you know, I don't I don't even think kids Do they know what a phone booth is anymore? But if he's standing in a closet with you face to face, right he can make the most out of that I think that that's what you really want to see from him this season because the short passing game is going to be very important To this Bears team because of how many explosive plays Caleb Williams was able to complete last year They're not going to want you to beat them over the top. They know that Luther has that speed They know that Rome has that jumping ability They're not going to want to have you beat them over the top and so they're going to give you some of those underneath routes How do you make the most out of those and turn those into the big plays? I think that's a skill set that you're gonna see Luther burden really really be able to go out there and put on display and that's the thing that I want to see most from him this Season because it to me when I look at Luther and and it's it's not a bad thing I think this is the great thing about I shouldn't say the great thing I think this is a trait of every great wide receiver and I think that he has a you heard him talk about it Right. He says I'm him. I'm going out there to prove that I'm that guy I'm going out there to prove that I'm the one that everybody needs to be Focusing in on because I'm the number one that's on this team. That's fine I love that But if you're not getting that opportunity if you're not getting that then what is your attitude going to be in those moments? Right, and that's why I say when you're getting five six opportunities a game to try and make a play What are you doing with it? If you make the most of it? I think you're gonna see a very happy Luther burden I think you're gonna see a very happy Ben Johnson and everything's gonna be very copacetic moving forward But I do there is a part of me that is just like okay He's got a little bit of that wide receiver trait that we have all seen right where it's like listen I'm the guy told me to football and if you're not throwing me to football, I'm gonna speak up about it We'll see how that ends up panning out But it is something that I wonder about when it comes to Luther burden Let me know how you guys feel down in the comments below about Luther burden What are your thoughts on your expectations for him this upcoming season? And then you get kind of to the rest of the guys that are out there, right? What do we want to see from the rest of this Bears wide receiving core? Listen, I think you can put Khalif Raymond. You could put JP Richardson. You could put John a Walker You could put you know, Xavier and Thomas all kind of in this same role when the ball comes your way Don't mess up and I know that sounds very simple to say right But like that was the role of Olamide Zacchaeus and when you saw him last year in that role And he was having his most success That was when he was getting the praise that was when he was somebody that you could trust and when this offense I think was At one of its most dangerous was when as you're throwing that football over the middle there and OZ's Looking it in and he's doing the little things just to bring the football and get the first down Turning up field and creating something extra, right? that's when this offense really became potent and that's all I think you're going to see from the rest of these guys that there's going to Be a massive expectation on now. Yeah, I don't look at Xavier on Thomas and think you know coming in here his first year Hey, the expectation is for you to go out there and be the greatest wide receiver that this team has I think the expectation is when the ball is thrown your way make sure that you're doing your part 111 as they say when talking with Ben Johnson, right or when talking with Caleb Williams, right? Because that is something that gets you in a position to make the big plays and as you feed off of that Maybe you can then go out there and get more out of that, right? Maybe you can get more of a role in this offense overall but right now I think you've kind of got the names especially with Colston Loveland with The two guys that I talked about already and Luther Burden and Roma Dunes And then you got to add DeAndre Swift into there as well like there's going to be a lot of expectation around Hey, are you blocking? Well, hey, are you going out there? And are you setting up things in the run game, right? Like I don't think that there's going to be a ton of expectation Around who that third or fourth wide receiver is this year, which is fine. By the way This is how good Offenses run usually the third or fourth ride wide receiver is just a guy that slots in there and figure some things out and is able to make some certain plays but are you doing all the small details that are putting you in a position to Maintain your spot on the field because that is a war right now wide receiver three I mean you're talking about the expectation is that it's going to be Khalif Raymond But if Khalif Raymond ends up being nothing but a kick return or punt returner I don't think everybody's that concerned about it, right? Devin DuVernay had some nice catches last year But nobody was looking at Devin DuVernay to be the number three wide receiver on a consistent basis to me I think most of us want to see Jada Walker continue to build on what he's done But the undrafted guy versus the guy that's drafted fourth round He's still fighting tooth and nail for that spot and they went out there and drafted your potential replacement with everything that that Took place during the draft. So like to me I just want to see especially for a guy like Jada to win that job Make sure that you're doing everything that you can when it comes to special teams make sure that you're doing everything that you can when it comes to You know blocking on the field if you're out there on an offensive play and it's a run play, right? And you need to block or even getting downfield and blocking as well and then when the ball does come your way, of course make the catch and turn it upfield and try and do something with it, but the reality of things is You're probably going to see whatever that wide receiver three position is not be the guy that's getting focused on the most And so you're gonna see opportunities that maybe you wouldn't see every day in that position So hopefully this is a year where we see somebody take a big step in that direction I don't think that it was a concern last season because of some of the names that you had there But we know how this goes man if you're doing that the right way and the end this is kind of more for the young guys if you're doing things the Right way at a young age there and they not really even for Khalif Raymond there cuz you know He's past his prime on that one. But like if you're doing things the right way at a young age there What happens if Luther gets banged up for a week now, maybe you're being relied on heavily a lot more What happens if you see Roma Dunes a need a week off because the foot is bothering him that week now all of a sudden you're seeing an opportunity where Xavier on Thomas can go out there and be that big-name guy and win a spot and win and what I love about what Ben Johnson is able to do with these guys is if you can prove to him that you can be Trusted in doing the little things. He'll give you the opportunity to do the big things and We know how this wide receiving group can go right like we're sitting here and we love everything that Roma Dunes a brings But I think there's a lot of people that expect Luther burden to be the number one option a wide receiver this year it can Flip on a dime for you that quick So I think that just continue to be locked in continue to be focused and the opportunities will come your way let me know what you guys want to see from guys like Xavier on Thomas from guys like Jada Walker and if you want to throw a Khalif Raymond in there as well who I think right now probably has that starting job And we'll see what ends up happening when we get to camp Let me know how you guys feel down in the comments below man I can't wait to hear from you as well Finally got to get into this man hit that like button if you have not done so subscribe to the page leader 5-star view Y'all know what to do appreciate you guys But tuning in is showing love as you always do listen the top 10 list came out the other day And there seems to be a lot of people that are bothered by the fact that Caleb Williams comes in 10 on this list now This is not a list made by the media. This is not a list that is made by pundits This is not a list made by sideline reporters. This is based on executives. This is based on Scouting and this is based on coaches around the NFL that feel that Caleb Williams is a top 10 quarterback so number one as Bears fans first things first if you hear somebody say that list is fraudulent just point them in the direction of the nearest door because these are coaches and team and and Scouts and guys that have to sit there and watch tape on these guys every day saying that Caleb Williams is a top 10 player Does that mean that everybody gets everything right? No, but at a minimum You know that you're getting it from a validated source on the flip side of things though, right? Like when I look at this list and some of the names that were left off the big one Of course, you see Packers fans who have always said by the way I don't know if you guys remember this remember whenever those lists would come out They would be like, oh, we don't even we're not even worried about list list Don't mean anything who even cares about a list and then this list came down and it came out and it seems like people really care about this list that has Caleb Williams as a top 10 quarterback, but To me when I look at how they were evaluating him Do I think that Caleb Williams is the best QB that is on this list? No, do I think that there are guys that are more consistent than Caleb Williams that didn't make this list? Yes, I do. I think that Jordan Love has proven that he is a more consistent quarterback I think that Brock Purdy has proven that he is a more consistent quarterback but I think that we are entering an era of football where Consistency is great And I think that you have to see Caleb Williams get some of that consistency here But upside and at the end of the day the one analytic that matters because the one thing you're gonna see is people just reciting Oh this analytic tells me that he's the great this analytic tells me that he's the great this analytic makes all the sense in The world number one quarterback at the NFL right now is voted by many people as Josh Allen He is an analytic darling. He is amazing. He is phenomenal I do think that he is probably arguably the best quarterback in football but you'll know what Josh Allen also isn't a Super Bowl champion because the guy behind him where the Analytics don't always speak to how great he is and the analytics don't always tell you how amazing his game is wins and I think we're entering an era in sports where the Analytics don't mean a hill of beans if you get the job done There's one analytic that matters most and that is W at the end of the day now You can use analytics to tell the story I think I think there's a great way to say that these numbers get get you know Prove that in this situation or in this moment that quarterbacks are going to struggle whatever quarterback it is, right? The analytics are not favorable on Caleb Williams through first second third quarter for most of that, right? There's some that you can pick out and say this is a great analytic to show how good this young man is Or can be which is what I think a lot of NFL GM's and coaches and things like that Scouts around the league are looking at when they throw him on this list But at the end of the day Caleb Williams continued to find ways to get the job done The Chicago Bears last season continued to find ways to get the job done. And sometimes that is not explainable I think when you look at a name like Jalen Hurts who to bend the two Super Bowls, he's been an MVP He's been a Super Bowl MVP. He's got the all the talent in the world, but at the same time He doesn't always put it all together But you know what he goes out there and he finds a way to win. I don't think that that's a knock on who? Jalen Hurts is I don't think it's a knock on him as a quarterback because I think winning is a stat that matters most Especially if now what Jalen Hurts kind of last year, right? You're talking about him being more of somebody who was a byproduct of the winning situation. Maybe not the main ingredient there But for Caleb Williams for the Chicago Bears last year, you don't win those games you don't play those games You don't get those moments done without him in there He is the main ingredient of everything that is there and so for me when I see him on this top ten list first off It's cool. That's great. Guess who else was on Ellis Jaden Daniels was on Ellis two years ago You know how many people have been on these top ten lists and then they're not on it the next season because you can't Back it up. You know what? I want to see from Caleb Williams this year. The top ten list is cool I hope that he saw it. He gave a silent nod ESPN He moved on but at the end of the day The only thing that matters is can you back it up this coming season and you know what? I think that's why you're starting to see some of these guys left off the list Brock Purdy is an obvious name that you can throw Out there and say how do you not have a guy like Brock Purdy on the list and to me when I look at it? I'm like, well, yeah But at a certain point Wow Brock Purdy is the analytic darling and maybe even a little bit better of an analytic darling than what? Kirk Cousins was He's not getting the job done Heck he's getting the job done more than Josh Allen by getting to the Super Bowl but at the end of the day that job is not getting finished and So for me, I think in year one of Caleb Williams you saw our year two I should say of Caleb Williams You saw all of the highs that there could be and you saw all of the big moments and you're now telling yourself Well, if he takes the simple stuff, how dangerous can he be? That's the kind of quarterback that I think people are looking at now in this coming era as a top 10 guy Because Caleb one thing that I think you're going to see this season one thing I think you're gonna see this camp is Caleb is going to start to take the simple stuff that's available to him because that's probably All that's going to be available to him. You saw it at the end of last year. You saw it in that Rams game They are trying to do everything that they can to take away explosive plays So if you're Ben Johnson of your Caleb Williams, how do you create those explosive plays you feed the football underneath? You force that defense to start playing a little bit closer to the line of scrimmage and then all of a sudden you get Roma Dunes air you get Luther burden you get Colston Loveland streaking down the field butt-naked and you're able to flip that football up there and able to catch it and bring It in for an explosive play. That's what Ben Johnson wants to create and but you can't force those moments You have to create those moments and you create those moments by taking the simple play So I think you're going to see a much more polished Caleb Williams this upcoming season I think coming into the year and even leaving last year, right? it's tough to say he wasn't one of the best quarterbacks in football last year because Literally the one trait that he had about being clutch and all of that that showed up more times than anything else that he was able to do Force defenses to play football games in a manner that we didn't see them play Force defenses to play tighter than we had ever seen them play because all of a sudden it's like one play To change everything for this guy and he was able to find that one play more often than not and I think that is an important Trait or the quarterback position, but hey, let me know how you guys feel down in the comments below man What are your thoughts on what we saw from Caleb Williams last season and coming into this year? What do you think is going to improve about Caleb Williams as well as always man? It is your boy Pat the designer back at it again. Y'all stay safe other Chicago bear down one love