By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
With the final pick traded to the Chicago Bears as part of the Bryce Young trade, with the 39th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft the Bears selected Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III.
Burden was a three-year starter at Missouri, working primarily in the slot for the Tigers, and a two-time first-team All-SEC selection (in 2023 and 2024). In 12 games last season, he caught 61 passes for 676 yards and six touchdowns, while adding 115 rushing yards and two touchdowns. In Missouri’s early-season win over Boston College, Burden had a season-high 117 yards on six catches and a touchdown.
As a sophomore in 2023, Burden had his most productive season as he topped 100 yards in six games, totaled 86 receptions for 1,212 yards, 14.1 yards per reception and nine touchdowns. That performance earned him a second-team All-America selection from the Associated Press, and he was a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award (given to the most outstanding receiver in college football).
For his three-year college career, Burden tallied 192 receptions for 2,263 receiving yards and 26 total touchdowns — 21 of which were receiving TDs. He was the third-highest rated wideout — behind Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan and Texas’ Matthew Golden — on The Athletic draft expert Dane Brugler’s big board.
LBIII should fit well into the Bears offense. Chicago got their slot receiver to complement Rome Odunze and DJ Moore. In 2024, 85.3 percent of Burden’s snaps came from the slot. New Bears head coach Ben Johnson had a ton of success with Amon-Ra St. Brown as the slot receiver in Detroit. While those are lofty expectations to put on Burden, it’s a sign of how Johnson can try to incorporate him in the offense to help quarterback Caleb Williams.
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