Luther Burden NFL Draft: Best landing spot for Missouri WR

Luther Burden is one of the most intriguing wide receivers in the entire 2025 NFL Draft class. He appears to have all of the physical tools necessary to be an elite prospect in his position, but a statistical decline in his final college football season could be potentially concerning.

The Missouri Tigers star exploded for a massive season two years ago, including 86 receptions for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns. He regressed in his final season with the team with 61 receptions for 676 yards and six touchdowns. Some of this can be explained by playing in a poor offense, but it will be interesting to see how that affects his draft stock.

Burden measures in at 6-foot tall and weighs 206 pounds, so he has the right build for a top-level receiver prospect. He also ran the 40-yard dash in 4.41 seconds at the 2025 NFL Combine and has consistently demonstrated his excellent route-running and strong ability to create separation from defenders.

It's fair to wonder what Luther Burden could have done during his college football career if he played in an elite offense or with a star quarterback. He didn't have that luxury, but was still one of the best overall wide receivers in the competitive SEC over the past two years. This gives him a ton of upside as a potential first-round pick in the draft this year.

Luther Burden's potential landing spot in 2025 NFL Draft

Luther Burden

Luther Burden is projected to be one of the first wide receivers selected this year and is likely to be picked in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He joins Tetairoa McMillan and Matthew Golden in a similar class of prospects who could be top-10 picks, but could also fall into the later part of the first round.

One of the best potential landing spots for Burden is to the Denver Broncos with the 20th-overall pick. They could use another reliable wide receiver to pair with Courtland Sutton and give second-year quarterback Bo Nix more weapons to work with. They are rumored to be targeting the position early in the draft, so Burden makes a ton of sense.

The Broncos improved their offense by adding Evan Engram during the offseason, but would still greatly benefit from an upgrade at wide receiver. Burden can potentially be their solution and could realistically emerge as their WR1 if he lives up to his potential as an elite prospect.