2025 NFL Draft

2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Missouri WR Luther Burden III

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Luther Burden scouting report

From now until the 2025 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, all the way down to Day 3 selections and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Missouri WR Luther Burden III.

#3 Luther Burden III/WR Missouri – 5-11, 205 pounds (Junior)

MEASUREMENTS

Player Ht/Wt Hand Size Arm Length Wingspan
Luther Burden III 5-11/205 N/A N/A N/A
40-Yard Dash 10-Yard Dash Short Shuttle 3-Cone
N/A N/A N/A N/A
Broad Jump Vertical Bench Press
N/A N/A N/A

The Good

– Shows promise picking up yards after the catch
– Good age for development paired with falling in the 78th percentile for weight
– Used a lot in motion and played in different alignments, including in the backfield
– A willing blocker in the run game and screens
– Solid speed to win over the top
– Very good hand-eye coordination that allows him to track the ball at a high level
– Teammates and coaches speak very highly of his character

The Bad

– 2024 season was not as good as his 2023 campaign
– Has not shown to be an elite threat past 10 yards down the field on a consistent enough basis
– Has struggled to incorporate physicality into his game allowing DBs to win when playing tight enough coverage
– Smaller frame as his height falls in the 33rd percentile
– Lacks the outstanding raw athleticism seen in others at his position
– Started social media drama in 2022 by deleting Missouri-related content when he felt he was not getting enough targets

Bio

– 21 years old (Dec. 12, 2003)
– Played in 38 games for Missouri from 2022-024
– 226 offensive touches, 2,497 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 11.8 yards per catch in his college career
– 70 offensive touches, 791 yards, 8 touchdowns, and 11.1 yards per catch in 2024
– 2024 left-shoulder injury
– Five-star WR in his 2022 high school class from East Saint Louis, Illinois
– Played football and basketball in high school
– Had 1,174 receiving yards and 20 receiving touchdowns his senior year of high school in 2021
– Majoring in general studies
– Originally committed to Oklahoma in October 2020 before decommitting in August 2021

Tape Breakdown

The one thing people will 100 percent take away from watching Luther Burden play is how dangerous he is within 10 yards and how he is even more dangerous after the catch. Granted all of the following clips are against UMass, but I feel that game does a great job at showing who Burden is as a prospect. Very hard to stop underneath and breaks off long gains. You see Missouri used him here on a dump pass, jet sweep and a whip route over the middle. Nothing crazy or special but all turned out to be big plays because of how special Burden is at this.

Here is another example of what I just touched on previously with Burden but with another layer added. In Missouri’s offense, the Tigers were very creative with how they got him involved. Sometimes that included him lining up in the backfield. They design this play to go to Burden in the flat on a dump-off and he just takes over. He turns into almost a running back by the way he presses his blocks to distort defenders’ leverage before exploding up field. This simple play took them from their 49-yard-line to inside Boston College’s 15-yard-line. This extra layer will make teams excited because of the different personnel they can feel comfortable having on the field with Burden’s ability to line up there and be effective.

A simple rub route here from Missouri with Burden the intended receiver. He gets open as one would expect and then shows his best trait of yards after the catch, making four defenders miss on his way to the end zone. The initial spin would have been impressive enough but the ability to make three defenders miss after that and score is next-level impressive.

As easy as this play looks for Burden, I feel it is very impressive and goes to show how good his ball tracking is. Though he is wide open through this entire play, Boston College’s defender makes a great play on the ball to tip it. Burden is still able to track it through its new spinning motion and haul it in for a big play. Any person who has played receiver knows a different spin on the ball than the one you are used to can make it so much harder to catch. Add that it changed so close to Burden — it was now slightly behind him, and it was a very impressive play.

Now focusing more on Burden’s ability to be a deep threat. I am not too sure I can rely on him consistently to win over the top. He has solid enough speed to have a step on a defender but not the physicality to win the entire rep. If he ends up winning over top it is due to his elite ball tracking and a great placed ball by the quarterback. As seen here, Burden is very comfortable in a back-shoulder situation. Improvement in this area can make Burden a top receiver in the NFL.

Conclusion

Luther Burden III has quickly become one of my favorite wide receiver prospects in this class. His ball tracking is NFL-ready as seen on the majority of his film. His diversity in how he’s used will intrigue offensive coordinators everywhere, and best of all he is only praised for his character by the entire team. Burden may not have had the best 2024 following his 2023 sophomore campaign, but the traits and resume are there for teams to feel comfortable drafting him early.

A five-star prospect coming out of high school and staying committed to Missouri instead of transferring to a more prestigious school when he had the opportunity to increase his NIL chances says a lot about who he is. He has the ability to be a returner in the NFL if a team chooses to let him do that as well. In his senior year of high school he returned 21 punts for 852 yards and eight touchdowns.

At Missouri, he returned 24 punts for 252 yards and one touchdown. His willingness to block is something you don’t see as much from premier college wideouts.

To a certain extent, Burden reminds me of a new-age Jarvis Landry. A true, do-it-all guy any team would be lucky to have in its building.

Projection: Day 1
Depot Draft Grade: 8.6 – First Round (Year 1 Quality Starter)
Games Watched: Boston College (2024), UMass (2024), Texas A&M (2024)

Previous 2025 NFL Draft Player Profiles
CB Jahdae Barron DL Derrick Harmon QB Quinn Ewers RB Omarion Hampton
RB RJ Harvey EDGE Kyle Kennard

 

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