Rookie Luther Burden III and veteran Olamide Zaccheaus are two of the top wide receivers brought in by Ben Johnson and the Chicago Bears this offseason.
Burden, a second-round pick with first-round potential, was one of the flashier and more exciting additions in the 2025 draft. Zaccheaus, who signed signed a one-year, $1.2 million contract with the Bears, is coming off a career-rejuvenating season with the Washington Commanders. Both will be competing for the WR3 slot, which was assumed to be a lock for Burden.
While the rookie comes with a good deal of hype, former NFL tight end Clay Harbor, who now serves as an analyst for CHSN Sports, thinks Zaccheaus could surprise some people.
“This is a bigger competition than people think,” Harbor told colleagues David Haugh and Ruthie Polinsky on June 4.
Clay Harbor: Don’t Count Olamide Zaccheaus Out in WR3 Competition With Luther Burden
GettyNew Chicago Bears wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus is competing with Luther Burden III for the WR3 role.
Zaccheaus entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2019, signing with the Atlanta Falcons. After four seasons in Atlanta, where he gained over 400 yards in two of his four seasons. Zaccheaus joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023, where he just 10 passes for 164 yards.
He revitalized his career in 2024 with the Commanders, hauling in a career-high 45 receptions for 506 yards and three touchdowns.
“You can trust him, but he’s extremely quick,” Harbor said about Zaccheaus. “You’re obviously going to have a number of packages for Luther Burden — but I think after watching Zaccheaus, he has a number of packages for himself, as well. He’s extremely quick. He’s a good blocker. He’s catching everything. He’s just this guy that’s crafty, quick, will do whatever you want him to do to help the team win the game. Like, dirty stuff, but also, you saw him get 500 yards last year, 45 catches with the team that made the NFC Championship Game. That counts for something.”
“This is a bigger competition than people think.”
@ruthiepolinsky, @clayharbs82, and @DavidHaugh look at the slot receiver position battle between Olamide Zaccheaus and Luther Burden III on The Big Pro Football Show:
Throughout his six-season career, Zaccheaus has accumulated 149 receptions for 1,998 yards and 13 touchdowns over 89 games.
Burden, the Bears’ second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, enters the league with high expectations. Despite a dip in production during his final college season at Missouri, his potential as a versatile playmaker is evident. But he’s still a rookie, and recent reports indicate he has missed practice time due to a soft-tissue injury.
Ben Johnson Has Spoken Highly of Zaccheaus
Considering the importance of slot receiver in Johnson’s offense, it’ll be interesting to see how much Zaccheaus gels in that role.
“I don’t know if it’s my favorite position to scheme up, but for whatever reason, slot receiver, everywhere I’ve been and called [plays] the last eight years, the ball’s always found the slot receiver,” Johnson said during a March 31 with Adam Hoge of CHGO Sports. So that’s a very important point of emphasis for us is to get that spot right. It doesn’t matter if we make it [the slot] primary or not, the ball just tends to find its way there. So, we gotta make sure we have a guy that’s running very distinct routes at that position.”
When Hoge asked Johnson specifically what Zaccheaus might bring to the offense, the new Bears coach didn’t hesitate.
“What he’s shown is elite run-after-catch ability,” Johnson said. “He’s an immense competitor, he’s got some speed, he’s got some juice. … That excites me. We’re going to really emphasize the run after catch, the blocking after catch, of our passing game to gain some hidden yardage that way. You get the ball in space to these guys and I think he really showed last year that’s an area he excels.”
