NFL Draft
11/17/24
6 min read
Luther Burden III 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Missouri Tigers WR
Height: 5110 (unofficial)
Weight: 205 (unofficial)
Year: Junior
Pro Comparison: Percy Harvin
Scouting Overview
Missouri Tigers wide receiver Luther Burden III is an electric weapon with the football in his hands. He was among the nation’s leaders in run-after-catch yardage during the 2023 season, which was his peak with the Tigers program.
Burden is primarily a slot receiver who will need added development to win and be featured on the outside. However, his ball skills and explosiveness make him a desirable addition who can win underneath and help generate explosives after the catch.
If he lands in an offense with various weapons, he can be a killer counterpunch to a defense’s efforts to take away featured players. I think Burden can, in time, become a featured weapon himself — but a number of the roles Missouri charged him with to manufacture touches leave him with ample room to grow into that kind of volume in an NFL passing game.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Electric run after catch threat capable of forcing missed tackles with explosive speed and functional strength
- Reliable hands catcher that showcases effective ball skills away from his frame to aggressively frame the ball
- Compact frame allows him to play with admirable physicality and good contact balance
Negatives
- Limited experience playing on the perimeter and likely relegated to slot role early in his career
- Granted a lot of free releases and schemed targets in the Missouri offense, will need refinement in both releases and routes to earn touches in progression
- Underwhelming blocker to aid the point of attack from the slot
Background
Burden is from East Saint Louis, IL, and played his high school at East Saint Louis HS. As a prep talent, Burden played football and basketball but quickly found momentum on the gridiron.
He was rated as a highly acclaimed 5-star recruit (247 Sports) who piled up accolades at East Saint Louis HS, including MaxPreps Player of the Year and an invitation to the 2022 Under Armour All-America Game as the No. 1 wide receiver recruit in the country.
Burden received more than three dozen offers before ultimately choosing Missouri over SEC powerhouses Alabama and Georgia — and becoming one of just a handful of 5-star recruits to commit to the program.
As a true freshman, Burden posted a rushing and receiving touchdown in his first career game and also posted a punt return score in the first month of the season; he finished the year with double-digit touchdowns in 2022. Burden exploded in 2023 as a true sophomore, finishing as a semi-finalist for the Biletnikoff while securing First-Team All-SEC and Second-Team All-American honors for the Tigers.
Tale Of The Tape
Luther Burden III is an electric offensive weapon that can add big-play ability to an NFL roster. The translatability of some of his usage will depend on the offensive play caller and the other tools at the roster’s disposal, but a group that has a variety of body types and weapons in the passing game will be well positioned to use Burden to the best of his ability as he acclimates to the pro game.
His instincts with the ball in his hand are top-tier, and he’s at his best in space. The open field vision he showcases as a ball carrier allows him to work to a crease effectively and break pursuit angles from secondary players as they rally to the football. Burden is super slippery at the catch point, too. He has good anticipation and body control out of the reception to feel where to break to maximize his yardage opportunities.
This feel and vision are complemented by an aggressive demeanor at the catch point; he’s not a body catcher who traps the ball on his chest and waits for the football to arrive. Instead, Burden will extend and attack the ball to buy himself more time to decide where to move with the ball.
Burden’s receiving profile is boosted by the frequency of his motion at the snap. Missouri will tuck him in split-flow action to get him out into the flat in play action for extra room to work, and on other occasions, see him carrying speed at the snap to aid his ability to get out into space. The Tigers also do a nice job of placing him in stack alignments to ensure free releases, and he’ll run off the vapor trails of the point before breaking out into the top of his stem.
As a route runner, Missouri has carved out several hyper-specific opportunities for him. He’s run some out & ups and stuff working down the field, but nearly 60 percent of his target opportunities have come on vertical fades & go’s, shallow & deep crosses, and wide receiver screens.
This, paired with his presnap mobility, has limited how much contact Burden has needed to negotiate while releasing off the line of scrimmage and simultaneously at the top of the route. Given these layers to his game, it is fair to expect that a vanilla scheme or static usage rate will require some patience from his NFL offense. Ideally, his next landing spot will embrace moving him around to the same degree Missouri does. If that’s the case, he can be an impactful player.
Outside of the passing game, Burden III has an impressive resume as a kick returner and should be afforded opportunities to be involved in the return game. He has the density to absorb hits on kick and punt returns and the vision and explosiveness to create a big play.
As a run game presence, you certainly like the frame and the physicality. That said, there’s a lack of intensity and gusto for blocking reps. As a primary slot option entering the league, ideally, there’s a fire lit under him in these reps, and he can discover the passion for aiding the run game. Such a development would make his playability in early downs much more digestible as he matures as a route runner.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Burden III projects best at the NFL level as a complementary weapon across his first few seasons. Offensive schemes that embrace interchangeability with alignment and role at wide receiver offer him the best forecast to being moved into pre-snap alignments that create touch opportunities for him.
Burden is not a ready-made route runner with a full tree, so his opportunities will need to be in a limited tree role and whatever designed touches a coach can create for him to quickly get the ball into his hands. Look for Burden III to win early in the league on the vertical plane and underneath vs. zone.
Grade: 80.00/100.00, Late First, Early Second Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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