2025 NFL Draft Summer Scouting Report: Luther Burden III

Background

Luther Burden III was the headlining player for the 2022 Mizzou recruiting class that ranked 14th in the nation. The young receiver was a five-star recruit from East Saint Louis High School in Illinois, ranking second among receivers and 14th overall per 247 Sports. Despite a plethora of tempting offers from blue bloods like Ohio State and Alabama, Burden decided to stay close to home, committing to Mizzou. His freshman campaign went well despite a lackluster 6-7 team record, tallying up 39 catches, 702 yards and eight touchdowns. Both he and the Tigers made a tremendous leap in 2023, where he dominated SEC competition on offense in stride towards an 11-2 season capitalized by victory against Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

Strengths

High-end Athletic Traits: The intangibles that Burden brings to the table are easy to see on the field. He possesses rare explosive ability with easy acceleration and deceleration. His hips are insanely fluid and quick to turn as well. He creates separation at the top of his routes with ease simply due to his ability to change directions without losing pace. Burden can also stretch the field very effectively with well above average NFL long speed.

YAC Monster: Luther Burden's ability to stay on his feet with the football is tremendous. He routinely makes defenders miss in open space and has excellent contact balance and play strength that enable him to stay upright through tackle attempts. His ability to transition from receiver to runner is smooth and wastes little to none of the inertia that he has already built up. He finished last season with 724 total yards after the catch, third in college football. Burden is the type of playmaker that will consistently demand and produce on designed touches at the next level.

Alignment Versatility: Like many of the best offensive weapons in the modern NFL, Burden is adept at lining up anywhere across the formation. Mizzou uses him primarily in the slot but additionally mixes him in on the outside and in the backfield. 5'11" is no longer too small to play on the outside in the league, especially given Luther's ability to play bigger and stronger than his measurables suggest at the catch point.

Weaknesses

Underdeveloped Route Runner: Burden's natural tools are special enough for him to create separation at the college level. Still, there is a ton of meat left on the bone in terms of route running. His footwork on breaks was sloppy at times and led to rounded cuts. He also didn't utilize a ton of misdirection throughout his routes. While he does tempo his routes nicely, I think his ceiling as a separator is far higher than we've seen him reach so far in his career.

Unknown Release Package: Due to his high usage in the slot at Mizzou this past season, Luther was rarely lined up against press coverage. One of the biggest question marks that I hope to see answered in 2024 is his ability to get off the line against longer boundary corners. It's not that he can't do it, more so that we've yet to see it. This box is an important one to have checked if he's to be projected as a potential number one option in the NFL.

Summary

Luther Burden III is undoubtedly one of the more talented pass catchers that we may see in the 2025 NFL draft class. He brings a dynamic big-play skill set with positional flexibility that will have offensive coordinators frothing at the mouth. There's plenty for him to work on and show in the 2024 season as a route technician and with his ability to consistently play outside that could cement him within the top 10 entering next spring. Barring something unforeseen, Luther's name should be one we see called in the first round this upcoming April.