Luther Burden III, Missouri: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Burden was a five-star recruit from East St. Louis High School in East St. Louis, Ill. in the class of 2022

Missouri’s Luther Burden III is my top-ranked wide receiver for the 2025 NFL Draft. Burden’s well-rounded athletic profile, concentration at the catch point, and contact balance after the catch make him one of the top prospects in this upcoming cycle.

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Luther Burden III, WR Missouri: 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Junior slot receiver from St. Louis, Mo.

Background: Burden was a five-star recruit from East St. Louis High School in East St. Louis, Ill. in the class of 2022. He was the No. 3 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 4 for Rivals, and No. 3 for On3.com. ESPN ranked him 5th in the nation with a 92 grade out of 100. Burden originally committed to Oklahoma before flipping to Missouri. He was the MaxPreps Player of the Year and Rivals Illinois High School Player of the Year as a senior when he led East St. Louis to the Illinois Class 6A State Championship Game while amassing 71 receptions, 1,174 yards, and 20 touchdowns. Burden also played a significant role on special teams, returning 21 punts for 852 yards and eight touchdowns. He was a 2021 Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Class 6A All-State selection. As a junior, Burden totaled 35 receptions for 747 yards and five touchdowns in just five games. He was invited to the 2022 Under Armour All-America Game. Burden also played basketball in high school. His father, Luther Burden Jr., played basketball at Saint Louis University.

Injuries & Off-Field: Exited Florida (2022) game with an injury, suffered a leg injury vs. Memphis (2023) but returned to the game, exited game vs. Georgia (2023) with an injury but later returned

Awards: 2023 First Team All-SEC, 2023 Second Team All-American (Associated Press)

Pros: Experience returning punts, experience operating out wide and in the slot, fluid and loose athlete worth scheming touches for, good muscle packed into his build, smooth off the line, speed to stack corners in soft-shoe press, blows past off-man coverage, DBs have to respect his speed, finds second gear to separate late on vertical routes, nice hesitation move at the stem’s peak to freeze the defender, in-out fakes at the stem’s peak, shoulder and head fakes, flies through cuts to maintain speed, finds and sits in open space between the defense’s second and third levels, ball tracking really improved in 2023, flashes of elite ball tracking, comfortable making catches in crowded air space, makes good adjustments to the ball while it’s in the air, appears to have impressive vertical leap, high points contested catches, more aggressive and assertive at the catch point in 2023 than 2022, protects himself over the middle, sets up his blockers well on screens, survives arm tackles for YAC, contact balance, fights for YAC and often succeeds, creativity with the ball in his hands makes up for lack of twitch, euro steps and side steps to make defenders miss after the catch, acceleration and burst to stress and defeat angles of pursuing defenders, spin move, quick cuts enable his elusiveness

Cons: Penalized four times in 2023, limited height, not twitchy, beneficiary of schemed touches and stack alignments, granted lots of free releases from the slot or backfield, release package needs to diversify, frame calls into question ability to survive press coverage, vertical speed appears to fall short of truly elite, needs to show more urgency as a route runner more often, non-vertical routes can be rounded or lack definition, uses hesitations but can improve use of tempo, drops occasionally pop up on tape, some body catches, needs to work back to the ball more often – even if he has to play through the defender to get there, low motor blocker

Overview: Burden has experience returning punts for Missouri. He spent more than 80% of his time out wide as a freshman and more than 80% of his time in the slot as a sophomore. Burden is a fluid and loose athlete that offenses can scheme touches for. His frame is short, but he packs excellent muscle into his build. The junior is smooth off the line and has the speed to stack corners in soft-shoe press or blow past corners in off-man coverage. He finds a second gear to separate late on vertical routes. Burden has a well-developed arsenal of route fakes, including a hesitation move, in-out steps, and shoulder and head fakes. He flies through his cuts while maintaining his speed, but this sometimes hurts his route’s definition. The former five-star recruit finds space between the defense’s second and third levels to occupy. His ball tracking took a massive step forward in 2023. Burden makes catches in crowded air space and adjusts well to the ball while it’s mid-air. His impressive vertical leap helps him high point the ball for contested catches, and the aggressive and assertive mentality he has at the catch point is impressive. Burden flashed elite ball tracking in 2023 and has the chance to continue filling out this area of his game in 2024. The Missouri native benefited from a large amount of schemed touches and stack alignments in 2023. He also got free releases from the slot or backfield and was in motion pre-snap a good amount. Burden would excel in NFL “cheat motion” and can even take pop passes, but this has done little to expand his release package. Burden is muscular, but his size could still be an issue against press. He needs to refine and diversify his releases. His speed is impressive but falls short of elite, particularly when evaluating his vertical routes. Burden must show more urgency earlier in his routes. His routes that aren’t vertical are often rounded and lack ideal definition. The All-American’s hesitations and use of tempo can improve to make his route running even more dynamic. While his focus and play at the catch point have improved, Burden is still guilty of a few drops as he occasionally defaults to body catching. The All-SEC selection sets up his blockers well on screens and has the contact balance to run through arm tackles. He battles for yards after the catch and often picks up extra chunks of yardage. Burden isn’t twitchy, but he is very creative with the ball in his hands, using euro steps, side steps, spin moves, and quick cuts to make defenders miss. His acceleration and burst allow him to stress or break pursuit angles. Burden is a poor blocker who puts in questionable effort.

Overall, Burden is an above-average athlete with the acceleration, ball skills, burst, contact balance, elusiveness, and top speed to justify a first round selection. His improvement at the catch point and toughness after the catch pop. Teams will need to determine if he’s a slot-only NFL prospect or if he can contribute outside. Burden’s release package and route definition are areas he should target for improvement.

Role & Scheme Fit: Slot receiver in an 11 personnel scheme

Round Grade: First Round

Size: 5'11", 208 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 05-12-24