The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t give Patrick Mahomes enough weapons in 2024 for the team’s offense to compete at an elite level. General manager Brett Veach should circle several potential prospects to consider selecting in the 2025 NFL draft, including Missouri Tigers standout Luther Burden III.
Burden is under six feet tall, but he’s a dense playmaker with the play strength and loose movement skills to terrorize defenses after the catch. He primarily operated out wide in 2022 before kicking into the slot the past two years. His season totals across the board took a massive hit in 2024, but Missouri’s floundering offense and muddy quarterback situation caused the dip.
Burden possesses the speed to stack corners in press coverage or overtake off-man coverage. He finds another gear late in vertical routes to generate separation. Burden uses hesitation moves and head and shoulder fakes to get cornerbacks to bite at the top of the stem. He makes cuts at full speed, which makes him difficult for some defenders to mirror.
Burden needs to show more urgency as a route runner. His routes often lack definition and limit his ability to separate. Burden’s downfield speed passes the eye test but falls short of elite. Defenses granted him plenty of free releases in college, but he needs to develop his release package in preparation to face more press coverage in the NFL.
Burden flashes elite ball tracking and rarely drops passes. He makes good adjustments to the football and is comfortable working in a crowded air space. Burden high points the ball well in a crowd but sometimes defaults to catching the ball with his body on open receptions.
Burden makes magic after the catch. He isn’t twitchy, but he’s very creative. Burden uses stiff arms, euro steps, side steps, spins and quick cuts to make defenders miss in space. His acceleration stresses the defense’s pursuit angles and leads to some big gains.
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Very few top receiver prospects in recent drafts match Burden’s contact balance. His dense frame makes him a nightmare for less physical cornerbacks. Burden forced 30 missed tackles on 61 receptions in 2024. For reference, none of Elic Ayomanor, Emeka Egbuka, Matthew Golden, Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel forced more than 15 missed tackles last season.
Burden’s prospect profile conflicts with Rashee Rice’s role on the Chiefs. Rice’s recovery from his LCL injury and civil lawsuit could decide whether Kansas City pursues Burden or finds an alternative option. There’s too much overlap between how Burden and Rice succeed as receivers.
