The 2025 NFL Draft will be a great event for teams to start building for their future. Here is the Luther Burden NFL Draft Profile.
Position: Wide Receiver
School: Missouri
Size: 5-foot-11, 205 pounds
Class: Junior
2024 stats: 61 receptions, 676 receiving yards, 6 touchdown catches, 11.1 yards per catch, 9 rushes, 115 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns
Burden was a five-star recruit in the class of 2022, who decided to stay close to home and play for Missouri. He played decently as a freshman, finishing the year with 45 receptions for 375 yards and six touchdowns. Burden blossomed into a star as a sophomore, registering 86 receptions for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns. His play helped the Tigers win 11 games. He had a dip in production in 2024 with 61 receptions for 676 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Burden was still able to help Missouri win 10 games during the 2024 season.
Following the season, Burden declared for the 2025 NFL Draft. He is currently projected to be a first-round pick.
Burden is a good athlete for the wide receiver position. He has good acceleration at the start of the rep, getting up to top speed quickly. His agility is also good, as he moves well in a straight line and laterally. Burden has good top-end speed. In addition, he has good body control. He will be one of the better athletes on the field in the NFL.
He is a good route runner who runs a decent number of routes. Burden has good releases at the line of scrimmage to help him get initial separation on his routes. He runs crisp routes getting in and out of his routes quickly. Burden can find the soft spot against zone coverage.
His ability to create big plays is there in a couple of different ways. He has the speed and ball tracking to stretch defenses vertically. While he can create plays to the deep parts of the field, he can also take routine plays and make them big ones. He runs after the catch well, showcasing his athleticism and open-field vision. Even though he isn’t the biggest receivers, he can actually break a decent number of tackles as well.
Burden is not the biggest receiving prospect. He stands at 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, which makes him decently well-built for his size, but still leaves him at a disadvantage. Burden can add a little more play strength to fill out his frame more. He also has a limited catch radius due to his size.
With his limited size, Burden won’t be a great run blocker at the next level. Adding strength will help, but he also needs to refine his technique. More importantly than that, he could show more effort in his run blocking to help his team spring long runs and be a more effective offense.
While Burden does have nice releases that he utilizes well, he can still struggle to beat press coverage. Bigger corners can jam him at the line of scrimmage. He didn’t have to face a lot of press coverage in college, so he’ll need more reps to show he can get past defenders and not delay plays.
Projected Draft Range: First Round Pick
Draft Grade: First Round Pick
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