The Chicago Bears didn’t know what to expect when they went into the 2025 NFL draft. They knew how things would likely go for them at the 10th overall pick. If it broke as expected, Michigan tight end Colston Loveland was their target. Sure enough, that is how it unfolded. The next round was where it got tough to forecast. General manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson hoped to land Ohio State running back Treyveon Henderson. Instead, he went one pick before Chicago to the New England Patriots in the 2nd round. That forced the Bears to pivot to Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden.
Such bad luck ended up giving the team their two most explosive weapons in what became a division-winning season. Loveland led the team with 713 yards while Burden added 652 despite both getting limited reps early in the year. Now they’re expected to be focal points of the offense going into 2026. Given how they finished last season, it feels like Loveland and Burden are poised for big numbers. Bears fans may not realize it, but this puts them in a position to achieve serious NFL history.
Colston Loveland and Luther Burden have a chance to join rare company.
Plenty of NFL franchises have fielded pass-catching tandems that reached 1,000 yards together in the same season. Mark Clayton and Mark Duper did it for Miami in the 1980s, as did Jerry Rice and John Stallworth in San Francisco. Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne did it with Indianapolis. Isaac Bruce and Tory Holt did it for St. Louis. However, all of those combos have something in common. All of them featured players who were drafted in different years from each other.
Only twice in NFL history has the league seen two players from the same draft class reach 1,000 yards together in the same season. The first was Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh in Cincinnati. They were drafted together in 2001 and accomplished the feat in 2006 and 2007. The other was Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker in Denver. They arrived in 2010 and also did it twice in 2012 and 2013. Colston Loveland and Luther Burden are perfectly positioned to become just the third pairing ever to do it.
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| NFL Season | Team | Draft Class | Player 1 (Draft Round) | Player 1 Yards | Player 2 (Draft Round) | Player 2 Yards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Cincinnati Bengals | 2001 | Chad Johnson (2nd) | 1,369 rec. | T.J. Houshmandzadeh (7th) | 1,081 rec. |
| 2007 | Cincinnati Bengals | 2001 | Chad Johnson (2nd) | 1,440 rec. | T.J. Houshmandzadeh (7th) | 1,121 rec. |
| 2012 | Denver Broncos | 2010 | Demaryius Thomas (1st) | 1,434 rec. | Eric Decker (3rd) | 1,064 rec. |
| 2013 | Denver Broncos | 2010 | Demaryius Thomas (1st) | 1,430 rec. | Eric Decker (3rd) | 1,288 rec. |
This is not wishful thinking.
Burden had 652 yards on 60 targets last season. If you give him 100 targets on that same pace, which is entirely plausible, he would have 1,086 yards. As for Loveland, he had 635 yards over the final 11 games of last season. That would’ve averaged out to 981 yards in a full 17 games. Again, they both did this as rookies who weren’t the two most targeted players on the team. That was Rome Odunze and D.J. Moore. The latter was traded this offseason to Buffalo. Those targets will be distributed elsewhere, including Loveland and Burden.
Coach Johnson has already said he plans to utilize those two heavily in the offense moving forward. He did draft them after all. His confidence in their ability is sky-high. The only obstacle figures to be health, both for them and quarterback Caleb Williams. If that holds, they could be the first Bears duo since Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall to crack 1,000 yards in a season, and the third pair of draftmates ever to do it. That would be an incredible bit of history to achieve.
