Tag: Luther Burden III

Top NFL draft wide receiver prospect a big fan of Jayden Daniels?

Top NFL draft prospect a big fan of Jayden Daniels?

The Washington Commanders will be in the market for a wide receiver in the offseason to line up opposite Terry McLaurin. Washington likes its current group but needs another top receiver for rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.

With plenty of salary cap space, the Commanders could look to sign a prominent free agent, such as Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins. However, general manager Adam Peters is a draft-first kind of guy, meaning he could wait until April’s NFL draft to find Daniels and McLaurin some help.

Tetairoa McMillan of Arizona is the draft’s top-ranked receiver. Unless Washington completely falls apart, he won’t be available for the Commanders. Neither will Travis Hunter, who is arguably the top prospect in the upcoming draft. Hunter is a star two-way player for Colorado.

One prospect who could be in Washington’s range is Missouri WR Luther Burden III.

The 20-year-old prospect recently announced he was entering the NFL draft and is a lock to go in the first round. How high? That will be sorted out after the season.

Burden could be excited about potentially coming to Washington. Why? He appears to be a big Daniels fan, commenting on one of Daniels’ recent Instagram posts.

Burden is an electric playmaker who can do it all.

Burden would be a perfect complement to McLaurin. Which of Washington’s current receivers will be back next year? Outside of McLaurin, only rookie Luke McCaffrey is under contract for 2025. Dyami Brown, Noah Brown, Olamide Zaccheaus and Jamison Crowder are all free agents after the season.

The Commanders’ receivers will look different in 2025. Could Burden be a part of that group?

Electric playmaker named ‘stellar fit’ for Browns in NFL draft

Is Luther Burden III the Browns’ ideal fit in the 2025 NFL draft?

Even with a game today on primetime television, the Cleveland Browns likely have one eye on the 2025 NFL draft and potentially Missouri standout wide receiver Luther Burden III.

Despite a down season, sitting at just 61 catches, 800 total yards, and eight touchdowns, Burden III is one of the premier talents in all of college football and in all of the NFL draft. He entered the season with a ton of hype, racking up 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns in 2023 before fighting through subpar quarterback play all season.

And where Burden III is projected to be drafted, his scheme fit, and the positional need in Cleveland may just make him the perfect match that checks every box by the time April rolls around. Daft on Draft, an NFL draft site, thinks so at least.

Luther Burden III deemed “stellar fit” for Browns in 2025 NFL draft

Daft on Draft tabbed Burden III as one of eight “stellar fits” between NFL teams and 2025 NFL draft prospects as we trek toward the pre-draft process. Here is what Daft on Draft had to say on the fit between the Browns and the Missouri standout wide receiver:

“The Cleveland Browns have sought ways to create explosive plays, and they have mostly come with Deshaun Watson not on the field. Wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman have become legitimate threats down the field, but what they are missing is a player who can become an extension of their run game.

Elijah Moore is not that player, and he is a free agent at the end of the season. Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III is that player. Not only is he Deebo-like with the football in his hands and hard to bring to the ground, but his ability to win down the field and along the boundary elevates his game even more.”

Why Burden III to the Browns makes sense

It’s no secret the Browns have been trying to push the ball toward the boundary with Moore and other playmakers offensively to no avail. It’s also no secret that they have limited weapons, namely just tight end David Njoku, who can create after the catch.

Burden III solves both of those issues.

While Burden III plays predominantly in the slot, over 80 percent of his snaps there, this projection comes down to whether or not the Browns think he can play on the outside at Z as well. Given his film, that answer is a resounding yes.

The body control, level of physicality, and explosive juice that Burden III possesses when working down the field and along the boundary makes it known that he can also win outside if asked to do so at the NFL level. Fitting into a room with Cedric Tillman and Jerry Jeudy, Burden III fits like a puzzle piece.

With Tillman playing the prototypical X receiver, Burden III gives Jeudy and the Browns the freedom to line up in the slot or at Z with him doing the opposite to create mismatches and advantages for both players.

Sitting at 3-8 and with a need at wide receiver, could the Browns and Burden III be a match made in heaven when the NFL draft rolls around?

Browns land Deebo Samuel-like WR in new mock draft

Missouri’s Luther Burden III is a threat to hit the home run every time he touches the football

As the Cleveland Browns moved down to six spots in the 2025 NFL draft order and out of range for a new quarterback in a weak class of gunslingers, they instead took Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III in a new mock draft.

With Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders coming off the board to the Tennessee Titans with the No. 2 pick in Daft on Draft’s new mock draft, the Browns have to look elsewhere for a quarterback of the future. In a weak offensive tackle class, LSU’s Will Campbell was off the board as well.

This left the Browns to take Burden III. With Elijah Moore set for free agency this offseason, the Browns must look for a playmaker who can create fireworks every time he has the ball in his hands. Burden III is that playmaker.

Hard to bring down in the open field, Burden III is coming off of a season with 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns. He is experiencing a down year this season as the Tigers have gone through bouts of instability at the wide receiver position, sitting with just 450 yards and four touchdowns through eight games.

Burden III is not just a YAC threat underneath either, as he proves capable of running route to every level of the field from both Z and slot looks. With Moore set for free agency, a wide receiver room of the ascending Cedric Tillman, Jerry Jeudy, and now Burden III is quite the appealing option.

Where the New Orleans Saints were scouting 2025 draft prospects this week

Where were the New Orleans Saints scouting 2025 draft prospects this week? Their scouts were spotted at a couple of high-profile matchups:

Where were the New Orleans Saints scouting during this week’s college football games? Their scouting department is spread out nationwide catching  games and filling out reports on 2025 NFL draft prospects, but we only know where they are when it’s reported. This week’s news had them at several high-profile matchups.

Per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Eli Hoff, the Saints were one of six teams scouting Mizzou’s game with Auburn. It’s at least the second time this season they were watching Missouri live, and the school’s best prospect is wide receiver Luther Burden III, a likely top-10 pick in the 2025 draft class. The 5-foot-11, 208-pound wideout totaled 6 receptions for 49 yards against Auburn and is up to 168 catches, 2,034 yards, and 19 touchdowns in his career. He’s also gained 209 rushing yards and scored four times on just 30 carries as a runner.

But that’s not all. The Saints joined half the league in scouting all of the early-round prospects competing in Texas-Georgia on Saturday night, a game the Bulldogs won handily. Quarterbacks Carson Beck and Quinn Ewers have both also earned top-10 buzz, but they took a step back against the future NFL players on each other’s defenses. Beck was intercepted three times and Ewers was briefly benched in favor of Arch Manning after throwing an interception and taking several sacks.

This may not be the year to look for a quarterback early on. The Saints need help at multiple positions, and it could be worth taking the best player available if they hold onto their position with a top-10 pick. We’re waiting for the rest of Week 7’s games to resolve, but Sunday morning’s Jacksonville Jaguars win put the Saints at No. 6 overall.

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Early mock drafts have Bucs targeting top WR prospects in 2025

Early projections for the 2025 NFL draft have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers going after one of this year’s top pass-catchers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers already have one of the best veteran wide receiver tandems in the NFL in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, but will that keep them from targeting another elite pass-catcher at the top of next year’s draft?

The answer is no, according to many of the early first-round projections for the 2025 NFL draft, which routinely have the Bucs targeting one of next year’s top-end receiver prospects.

According to the Mock Draft Database, the players most often connected with the Bucs in early mock drafts are Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III and Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan.

Most of these mock drafts have the Bucs picking somewhere in the teens, and considering both Burden and McMillan have legit top-10 potential, either of them could be viewed as a steal at this point, though it’s obviously extremely early in the process.

The Bucs have some promising young talent behind Evans and Godwin at the moment (Trey Palmer, Jalen McMillan, Rakim Jarrett), but with Evans turning 32 years old next year and Godwin playing on the final year of his current contract in 2024, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them spend their first-round pick next year on another blue-chip receiver.

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Missouri WR Luther Burden III named 2025 draft prospect to watch for Panthers

Keep Luther Burden III in mind, Panthers fans.

Here’s a name for Carolina Panthers fans to keep in their memory banks . . .

Pro Football Focus analyst Trevor Sikkema recently named one offensive prospect to watch for each team (way) ahead of the 2025 NFL draft. Sikkema pairs the Panthers with who could be the class’ top receiver, University of Missouri’s Luther Burden III:

Without a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Panthers struggled to make major alterations to their offense, but they bolstered the offensive line in free agency and got three potential offensive starters in wide receiver Xavier Legette, running back Jonathon Brooks and tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders.

Still, Carolina may be searching for more playmakers in the passing game a year from now. Few in college football are better than Missouri’s Luther Burden III. His game resembles that of D.J. Moore and Terry McLaurin as not the biggest receiver, but one who can take over any game before and after the catch.

This isn’t the first time Burden has been linked to Carolina. ESPN’s Matt Miller mocked the dynamic playmaker to the Panthers in his early 2025 projections from last week.

And hey, keep those connections coming. Burden proved to be one of the most productive pass catchers in the nation this past season—amassing 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns en route to a First-team All-SEC nod.

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Bucs steal elite WR prospect in latest 2025 NFL mock draft

See who the Tampa Bay Buccaneers land in this early first-round projection for the 2025 NFL draft

We’ve still got a few weeks of quiet before NFL training camps kick off across the league, and some are filling that space with early projections for next year’s draft.

The latest 2025 NFL mock draft comes from NFL Spin Zone, and it has the Tampa Bay Buccaneers landing quite a steal with their first-round selection.

This projection has the Bucs picking at No. 15 overall, and they manage to snatch Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III. Here’s how they broke down the pick:

In the 2024 NFL Draft, the wide receiver position was arguably the best in the draft, at least in terms of the top-end prospects. The 2025 draft class doesn’t have Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze – top 10 overall prospects – but a guy like Luther Burden is going to come in and make an immediate impact at the NFL level.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers re-signed veteran Mike Evans to a long-term deal this offseason, but Chris Godwin will be a free agent after the 2024 season and Burden could end up being the ideal replacement.

Even if the Bucs were to bring back Godwin on a short-term extension, Mike Evans will turn 32 next season, so they’ll have to think about adding top-end talent at receiver either way.

Burden has routinely been a top-10 lock in most early mock drafts, with many slotting him as a top-five pick. If he were to fall to the Bucs in the middle of the first round, it would be an easy pick.

To check out the full first-round mock draft at NFL Spin Zone, click here.

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Panthers trade for top WR prospect in ESPN’s early 2025 NFL mock draft

ESPN’s Matt Miller lays out a dream scenario for the Panthers in his early 2025 mock draft.

A bumpy 2025 campaign may be worth the time for the Carolina Panthers.

ESPN NFL draft analyst and insider Matt Miller published his early first-round projections for the 2025 draft on Tuesday morning. Unfortunately for the Panthers, they’re forecasted to secure the second-worst record on the year—giving them the No. 2 overall pick of the event.

But Miller makes the most out of the compensation, trading Carolina down to the eighth selection on the board for University of Missouri receiver Luther Burden III:

In this scenario, the Panthers are able to move back and still land a playmaker, continuing to focus on building an offensive support system around Bryce Young after investing in guards Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt this offseason. Burden is the most explosive player in college football — he averaged 14.1 yards per catch and had 1,212 yards on 86 receptions last season — and brings a Deebo Samuel-like ability to make defenders miss post-catch. And he does it with legitimate 4.3 speed. Pairing Burden with Diontae Johnson and 2024 second-rounder Xavier Legette would give Young the type of wideouts he needs to excel.

Burden is currently regarded as the top wideout prospect in the upcoming class. The dynamic 5-foot-11, 208-pounder amassed 86 receptions for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns en route to a First-team All-SEC selection in 2023.

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