Ex-Pro Bowler Thinks Bears' WR Room Can Be One of the Best in the NFL
Steve Smith Sr. believes Bears receivers Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III are primed for a breakout season in 2026 under head coach Ben Johnson.
Video Transcript
What's going on everybody?
Nicholas Morano here from Roundtable Sports.
For today's video, we look into some recent comments that Steve Smith Sr., former Pro Bowl wide receiver, five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, had to say about the Bears wide receiver room and head coach Ben Johnson.
Here's what he had to say on his podcast, 89 with Steve Smith and James Palmer.
"I don't think there's a defense that Ben Johnson does not feel comfortable attacking with, with this new rebuilt wide receiver room.
I believe that probably can be one of the best young rooms in the National Football League, who has no damn idea what they're doing yet."
And what Steve Smith also said, he used, like, a metaphor to kind of describe what, what he meant by, like, what they're not doing, and he said this.
"I had a coach that one time said, 'Steve, you ain't worth a blind dog in a meat house.'
And I never understood that.
Like, what?
He goes, 'You're really good because you're following your nose, but you have no idea.
There's prizes all over the room.'"
And how I interpretate this quote was that the Bears wide receiver room, Burden, Odunze, they're running Ben Johnson's offense, what he's calling, right?
And that's, that's a good thing that they're understanding the nuances of this.
But there's so much more for Odunze and Burden to unlock once they start to continue learning defensive coverages and how they're trying to defend against this explosive offense, but also as they continue building chemistry with Caleb Williams.
And yes, both these players have shown flashes throughout their very young careers, but there's still more to unlock with both these guys.
And Odunze's coming off of a down year too, where, you know, a stress fracture in his foot really impacted what he was able to do.
And then Luther Burden proved over time and time again that he can create explosive plays in this offense, but that was as a rookie.
So now what's the next step for them as they continue learning Ben Johnson's offense and, like I said, developing that chemistry with Caleb Williams?
Steve Smith has high expectations and has high praise for these guys.
He also said this.
"This wide receiver room is hitting every level of the field, and they have one of the best masterminds that you can do."
Like, this is coming from a guy who's obviously played the receiver position at a very high level for a very long time in the NFL.
Watching this Bears offense, there's reason to be optimistic and excited for what can come in year two with Ben Johnson as the play caller.
They don't have the Bears, no more DJ Moore, but that doesn't mean that this offense can't be even more explosive in 2026.
We'll see how it all plays out, but Burden, Odunze, and of course you throw in Cole Kmet, all these pass catchers, they have an opportunity to make some noise in 2026.
