2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Luther Burden III

Prospect Summary:

During the spring months, NFL teams have their advance scouts visiting colleges for junior days and looking at the tape of the last season to put together a watch list for the next NFL Draft. The preseason watch lists are shared with the teams that are part of National Football Scouting or the Blesto scouting service. Looking at one of the preseason watch lists for NFL teams, Burden is the highest-graded prospect entering the 2024 college football season. From watching his 2023 tape, it’s easy to see why he received that high of a projection.

For the NFL, Burden is a dynamic receiver who will be a real weapon in the passing game. He is an awesome separator, and cornerbacks really struggle to run with him. Burden is explosive off the line, and his play speed is phenomenal. He is fast through the route with twitchy athleticism to shake corners when he cuts and then accelerate away from them to get open for his quarterback. Burden has serious speed and can challenge defenses vertically. Burden’s route-running is exceptional, and when you add that with his speed and athleticism, he is a nightmare in coverage.

After the catch, Burden is special. He is a very shifty runner who is extremely elusive in the open field. Burden will juke defenders and make even athletic defenders look bad in the open field. Burden has the speed to run away from the defense and a second gear to accelerate when he gets the ball in his hands. Along with being quick, he has a strong running back build with the power to bounce off defensive backs trying to tackle him.

On top of being fast and athletic, Burden is a polished receiver. His ball skills are superb as he goes up with late hands to keep defensive backs unaware on 50-50 passes. Along with putting up his hands late, Burden has very strong hands capable of ripping the ball down and maintaining the catch after getting slapped. Burden is not tall, but he has a strong build and uses it well to gain better position on contested catches.

It bears repeating that the preseason grades are not set in stone, and scouts will completely forget them soon. In the 2018 preseason, Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray and Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams were not on the preseason watch list. Yet Murray became the No. 1 overall pick, and Williams went third a few months later. Sometimes, college coaches ask scouts not to include some players on a watch list to motivate that player. There have been other late-round projections, such as Joe Burrow, who ended up skyrocketing during the season. Other players had high preseason projections but were mid- or late-round picks months later. Thus, the value is more of a watch list over grades of players’ abilities. But entering the 2024 season, Burden had the highest grade of any prospect on the watch list. As a pro prospect, I think he could be a No. 1 receiver that is similar to Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk.