Luther Burden III NFL Draft Overview
School: Missouri
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 206 pounds
Arm length: 31 1/2 inches
Hand Size: 8 ½ inches
40-yard dash: 4.41 seconds
10-yard split: 1.54 seconds
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Luther Burden III 2025 NFL Draft Profile
Luther Burden III is a highly ranked prospect in the 2025 Draft class, evidenced by being ranked in the top 50 in Daniel Jeremiah’s Big Board. Burden is a former five-star recruit with the athleticism and playmaking ability to match his prowess. Burden is highly skilled beyond his years, evidenced by his ball skills and the speed to make plays at all three levels of the defense. Missouri’s offense featured a lot of short passes that featured his ability to run after the catch, so NFL teams were rarely able to see his ability as a deep threat. He does have a penchant for taking plays off if he is not the featured receiver on a play, and he was not as productive against stronger competition.
Burden was a First-Team All-Southeastern Conference and Associated Press Second-Team All-American in 2023, when he caught 86 passes for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns. He was once again named First-Team All-SEC in 2024 despite missing time with an undisclosed illness and shoulder and arm injuries.
Strengths
First-step acceleration to get past defenders, compounded by top-end speed.
He consistently keeps momentum on his routes with excellent body control.
Above-average ability to track the deep ball.
His hand skills are very impressive, evidenced by consistently catching balls away from his body.
Has elite run-after-the-catch ability and has a strong and compact build for the wide receiver position.
His field vision and instincts with the ball in his hands prevent defenders from making good angles in the open field.
Weaknesses
Most of his catches (75 percent) were within ten yards of the line of scrimmage.
Played mostly in the slot in Missouri’s offense.
Average run-blocker.
Needs to work on concentration when he is in traffic, evidenced by some occasional drops.
Needs to improve on coming back to the ball on broken plays in the pocket.
Needs to learn the route tree at the professional level
NFL Comparison: Deebo Samuel/Garrett Wilson
Teams With Need at the Position:Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, Las Vegas Raiders, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks.
Draft Projection: Second Round
Bottom Line on Luther Burden III
Luther Burden III has become the biggest sleeper in this year’s draft; he has a lot of upside as one of the top receiver prospects in this year’s class heading into last season. His production took a hit; however, Missouri’s offensive production took a hit as a whole, with the team’s uneven quarterback play, which has caused his draft stock to take a slight hit. Burden’s biggest hurdle is adjusting to playing outside on the perimeter, not just mainly in the slot, even though that would be his strength early in his career. All in all, if Burden can get caught up in the playbook and master the route tree, he can develop into a team’s number-one receiver sooner rather than later, as Burden is a legitimate first-round talent.
Main Photo: Denny Medley-Imagn Images