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Luther Burden III told ESPN that he’s decided to enter the NFL Draft and will forego his senior season at Missouri.
Missouri star wide receiver Luther Burden III tells ESPN he’s entering the NFL Draft. He’s Mel Kiper Jr.’s No. 19 overall player. “We’re just getting started,” he said. pic.twitter.com/xRZROvcELP
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 2, 2024
The star wide receiver is Mel Kiper Jr.’s No. 19 overall player in the 2025 draft.
Burden finishes his 3-year standout career at Missouri as one of the program’s most productive players and an impact weapon who helped the program go 20-5 the past 2 years. Burden will not play in Missouri’s bowl game and instead will begin preparing for the NFL Draft.
“I feel like this is the best time to enter the draft,” Burden told ESPN. “I’m confident in myself and what I can do at the next level. I’m ready for the next step.”
Burden had another stellar season in Columbia in 2024, catching 61 passes for 676 yards and 6 touchdowns. Last season, Burden caught an eye-popping 86 passes for 1,212 yards and 9 touchdowns. And in 2022, Burden announced his presence as an impact college receiver with 45 catches for 375 yards and 6 TDs.
The decision to leave for the NFL was no surprise, coming after Burden walked on Senior Day in Missouri’s regular-season finale against Arkansas on Saturday. Burden will surely be in contention to be the 2025 draft’s top wide receiver.
Burden helped the Tigers go 9-3 this season, as they await their bowl destination. Burden will find out his next destination next spring.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
