2 weeks Ago By Billy Heyen
There was not an offensive recruit in the country who rivaled Luther Burden III. In his 2022 class, Burden was the No. 1 offensive player in the land.
In some rankings, he was No. 1 overall. Certainly, he was the top receiver.
The Bears just got him with the No. 39 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, early in Friday's second round. It's an offensive trend for Chicago, which already drafted tight end Colston Loveland in the first round.
Burden's best Missouri season was actually his sophomore year. He went for 86 catches, 1,212 yards and seven TDs. SN's NFL DRAFT HQ: Live tracker | Pick-by-pick grades | Best players still available In 2024, he had 61 catches for 676 yards and six scores.
Burden is a dominant after-the-catch player with the ball in his hands. He'll couple with second-year WR Rome Odunze to give Williams two long-term targets in Chicago. Burden has as much talent as any receiver out there.
If the Bears can tap into it, new head coach Ben Johnson will have a ton of fun calling plays. MORE NFL DRAFT: The real reason Shedeur Sanders wasn't drafted in the first round Browns' Travis Hunter trade mistake could be a generational error Giants' Abdul Carter comparison to Micah Parsons makes sense for 3 reasons Colts' Tyler Warren is biggest steal of NFL Draft first round Packers end crazy WR first-round drought with Matthew Golden pick Lions, Browns pick wrong sides of Ohio State-Michigan rivalry in NFL Draft Russell Wilson's history says Jaxson Dart has a chance at Giants starting QB job The cool Jaxson Dart-Eli Manning connection Browns make defense priority with Carson Schwesinger Texans add C.J.
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