Trey Burton’s Breakout Performance Against the Patriots Shouldn’t Go Unnoticed

Now that we are a few days removed from Sunday’s disheartening loss to the Patriots, I feel like it’s a good time to pull out some of the good things that happened for the Bears. Most notably, Trey Burton’s scene-stealing performance as the game’s leading receiver.

Here is what Burton’s day looked like in its full-blown graphical glory:

Burton set career-highs in the following categories: targets (11), catches (9), receiving yards (126). And, yes, you read that correctly. That big-time performance on Sunday wasn’t just a season-best for Burton, it was essentially a coming-out party for a player who came into the year facing the sort of heightened expectations that tend to follow big-money contracts.

Tight ends are often viewed as security blankets, especially for young quarterbacks who can struggle to find the touch deep down the sidelines. But putting Burton in that box would be unfair (and, frankly, wrong). Burton caught eight passes that went for 10+ yards, seven of which went for first downs and the other resulted in a touchdown. Two of Burton’s big play grabs went for 20+ yards, representing the rare occasions in which Mitch Trubisky was able to stretch the field vertically.

While it’s on our mind, let’s take a moment to check out Burton’s touchdown reception:

You could look at the raw numbers from Travis Kelce or Zach Ertz and see where Matt Nagy’s offense was going to be friendly for tight ends, but you don’t truly realize it until you see it play out with personnel packages, formations, and route trees. The play above is a well-designed concept that creates a mismatch that both Trubisky and Burton are able to exploit.

From a fantasy perspective, Burton was a monster and I hope you were able to start him and Trubisky together:

I can’t guarantee Burton will snag nine catches and 100 receiving yards weekly from here on out, but his hands and route-running ability coupled with Nagy’s scheme along with Trubisky’s confidence in his tight end should lead to more positive gains. And hopefully, more posts highlighting his excellence over the duration of his time in Chicago.

(Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)

written by

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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