In what has been an underwhelming season for the Chicago Bears' main three pass-catching threats in fantasy football, TE Colston Loveland, WR Luther Burden III, and WR Rome Odunze, a couple of them got back on track with QB Caleb Williams returning from injury in Week 6. With that, here is a breakdown of who fantasy managers should play in their starting lineups between Odunze and Burden III in Week 7.
Luther Burden III
Burden III, with his Week 6 performance against the Atlanta Falcons, appears to still have the upside of being a top-15 fantasy football WR that he had prior to the start of the 2026 season. Against the Falcons, he led the Bears in receptions and receiving yards: eight receptions for 95 yards. He will have a tougher matchup on Thursday Night Football than he did against Atlanta in Week 6, to add another encouraging fantasy outing to his 2026 resume, going up against the New England Patriots.
The Falcons this season are allowing the fifth most passing yards per game in the NFL, 252.0, and the Patriots are allowing the 11th fewest, 209.0. Within that production, they are giving up the 15th fewest PPR fantasy points and the 15th fewest standard points to opposing WRs of any team in the NFL.
Over their past three games, New England has shown the capability to give up big games to opposing pass catchers. An opposing player in all of their past three games had over 100 receiving yards.
Rome Odunze
Odunze continues to log bad fantasy outings, and did so in Week 7, which is extra discouraging given the stats Loveland and Burden III had. Against Atlanta, Odunze had three receptions on four targets for 39 yards. It is the fifth time out of six games in 2026 that he has had fewer than 60 receiving yards and fewer than four receptions.
One positive that fantasy managers can hold onto with Odunze is that he continually sees the field more than Burden III. In 2026, he has had a higher snap share than Burden III in five out of six games. In Week 6, Odunze played in 96% of snaps while Burden III played in just 39% of snaps.
Final Verdict
When it comes to who fantasy managers should play in Week 7 between Burden III and Odunze, they should start Burden III.
Despite Odunze seeing the field more than Burden III routinely, Burden III has logged more of what matters in fantasy: receptions and receiving yards. And that is not a trend that has just started this season; it began late in the 2025 season.
In the Bears' last three regular-season games of 2025, Burden II, while Odunze was out with an injury, averaged 5.7 receptions, 85.7 receiving yards, and had two combined TDs. Odunze, in his last three regular-season games, averaged 2.7 receptions, 34.0 receiving yards, and scored zero TDs. So, until Odunze can have notable fantasy production in a stretch of games, he should not be seen as a startable fantasy player.
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