The Bears Might’ve Landed the Steal of the Draft in Luther Burden III
I told you the Bears would select Luther Burden III in the second round of the 2025 NFL draft this time last year; you would’ve said I was crazy.
Likewise, you probably would’ve said the same if I had told you that last month.
He was the best player on the board, by a relatively wide margin, when the Bears were on the clock at pick 39. I was thrilled when I saw Antwaan Randle El on the phone when the camera cut to Chicago’s war room. I knew he had to be the pick.
The former five-star recruit entered the year as one of the most highly-regarded receivers in college football after putting up over 1200 yards during an electric sophomore season. However, he lost some shine after struggling to replicate the performance this season, when he finished with 676 yards.
With that in mind, there were a few factors that led to the massive discrepancy and subsequent draft fall, and it’s tough to blame Burden for a few of them.
For starters, Burden was burdened by a lingering shoulder injury throughout the year. Likewise, Missouri’s QB, Brady Cook, who signed with the Jets after going undrafted, also dealt with his fair share of injuries last year. He got hurt in the first game and seemingly couldn’t stay healthy throughout the year.
Unsurprisingly, the offense took a massive step back last year, resulting in 400 fewer passing yards and NINE fewer passing touchdowns. It would always be difficult to maintain a high level of play under those circumstances, so giving him a slight pass for the dip in production seems fair.
PHOTO: Kamil Krzaczynski/Imagn Images
As stated above, Burden was also a known commodity heading into this season. That comes with a lot of weight, as opposing defenses had his name circled heading into each matchup. Character concerns always pop up this time of the year, and Luther is the latest victim of them being blown out of proportion. Does he want the ball? That is probably just like every great receiver in NFL history. I think it would be a bigger red flag if he didn’t want the ball.
Not all character concerns are created equal, though. This is nothing like the Mike Green, who fell to the bottom of the second round due to multiple sexual assault allegations, free-fall. Likewise, it doesn’t appear to be anything like the selection of George Pickens a few years ago. Whether it be on or off the field, Burden has never been a headache.
Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz echoed a similar sentiment on The Rich Eisen Show last month.
“There are these quiet critics out here who say he has a character problem,” Drinkwitz said.
“My response to everybody has been, he’s never been arrested, he’s never had a public incident at our university, he has never once been to my office to complain about his role. He’s just been a great teammate.”
If you watch that interview, you’ll find that Drinkwitz wasn’t specifically prompted to talk about the noise surrounding Burden’s character. He offered that insight on his own accord. Potentially because he believed those rumblings were ridiculous?
One of the first questions many had after the Bears hired Ben Johnson, well, after the excitement wore off, anyway, was regarding the role of the Bears’ pass-catchers. Who will play the Amon-Ra St. Brown role, and do they need to add someone with speed to fill the Jameson Williams role? I think we’ve found both of those answers in the Mizzou product, who has 4.4 speed and ran 88% of his routes from the slot in college. He might not have a similar skill set to either player, as he isn’t as crisp of a route-runner as St. Brown or as lethal of a deep threat as Williams, but he has shown the ability to stress defenses at all levels of the field and could be just as good after the catch as either of them (or better in Williams’ case).
The slot receiver role has been hyper-productive in Johnson’s offenses, and I promise the offensive mastermind already has a plan in mind for the rookie.
I’ve seen some people question the Bears’ process. They didn’t think that using another premium pick on a pass-catcher made sense, considering the current state of the roster. While I understand that mindset considering the recent allocation of resources there, I firmly believe that the logic behind it is flawed. The front office successfully put itself in a position to take BPA at every selection through free agency. Adding Burden at that point was significantly better than going with someone like Aireontae Ersery, who was the next offensive tackle off the board, or defensive tackle TJ Sanders, who went two picks later after we traded down with Buffalo.
The front office simply didn’t trust Tyler Scott enough to play a pivotal role in 11 personnel as the third receiver. That also probably factored into their decision to draft Colston Loveland in the first round, as he can play out of the slot and also would allow the Bears to play 12 personnel more often. Double-dipping with the first two picks wasn’t on many people’s bingo cards, but it shows they were content with their players at other positions. Some wanted them to draft an edge rusher with their second pick in the second round. Still, the fact that they traded down, especially moving down as far as they did, is a testament to their confidence in Dayo Odeyingbo, whom they signed to a 3-year, $48 million deal this offseason. They didn’t pay him that much money to be a rotational player.
No one would have batted an eye if the Packers drafted Burden at 23 instead of Matthew Golden. Likewise, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he were the second receiver, not counting do-it-all playmaker Travis Hunter, off the board.
Was the Bears’ selection of Burden gluttonous with the high-level talent they already have there? Sure.
Will anyone care if he becomes what he should? Probably not.
PHOTO: Kamil Krzaczynski/Imagn Images
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