Matt Waldman shares his pre-NFL Draft scouting report of Chicago Bears WR Luther Burden III. The Bears’ rookie earned the third-highest pre-draft grade among receivers during the past two seasons.
WR Luther Burden III RSP Scouting Profile
RSP Ranking: WR1
Height/Weight: 6’0”/206 School: Missouri
Player Comparison Spectrum: X/Brandon Aiyuk – Rashee Rice – Dontayvion Wicks/Quintez Cephus
Depth of Talent Score: 93 = Franchise: Challenging for the lead role and leadership anchor.
The Elevator Pitch: Burden is one of the most versatile receivers in the draft while also being one of the most skilled as an athlete. His usage at Missouri hides some of Burden’s technical skills that will help him transition to the NFL, and it may lead some to believe he’s good but undeserving of the WR1 title in the class.
Those technical skills exist in his game and if they’re not good enough for him to win early, they’re close. Burden’s game is good enough that he can deliver at all three receiver roles – at least at a high level situationally. There’s good reason to believe he’ll have an instant impact in an NFL offense and emerge as one of the top-two offensive producers in the passing game as a rookie.
Burden is fast enough to win downfield or pull away from pursuit after the catch. He can deliver a second gear late in the route. If he already has a step, Burden uses his hands at the top of his stems just before the ball arrives to enforce the separation he earned.
Burden’s release packages against press coverage are versatile and sudden, but he’ll need to be more artful with the pacing to excel. Burden may not be challenge top cover corners who press him this year, but there’s enough skill there to see how he can become that type of threat in the future.
Once he’s into his stem, Burden uses pacing changes effectively to set up his breaks, which is another bit of evidence that his release footwork will eventually follow.
Because Missouri likes to target Burden across the field or on vertical shots we don’t see a lot of routes breaking back to the quarterback. When he runs then, Burden has good deceleration into hard breaks.
Most of his routes break across the field and in those cases, Burden has sharp turns so his breaks don’t drift. Burden snaps his turns to generate added separation on these routes.
An excellent zone receiver, Burden knows when to settle into a void and when to tempo his breaks across the field. He only shows his eyes when he has crossed beyond defenders who could cut off a target.
When Burden’s quarterback breaks the pocket, Burden knows when to work back to the passer and when to go downfield and uncover while disguising to the cornerback that the ball is coming.
Burden tracks the ball behind his break path on sail routes, turning his pads to address the ball with his hands. He tracks the ball over his shoulder on routes of all distances and he uses overhand position as his first-choice with attacking routes with his back to the quarterback.
Burden doesn’t leave his feet unnecessarily for targets arriving over his head. He can high-point with out leaving his feet. He also tracks the ball over his shoulder and makes one-handed grabs in the vertical game against tight coverage.
Burden attacks targets at the numbers and pads with overhand position. He’ll catch targets near his waist with underhand attack. He tracks targets behind his break path and extends well for the ball with overhand position.
Burden extends his arms with overhand attack to earn targets away from his frame. He’ll also extend to attack at the earliest window of arrival. His hands can be tighter when attacking to prevent the potential of targets go through his hands. I haven’t seen this happen, but when the hands are wide enough most receivers experience this problem with high-velocity throws at the NFL level.
Burden’s positioning between the defender and the ball is timely and effective. He protects the ball from coverage as soon as he makes the catch. He’s going to become a quarterback’s favorite in the middle of the field and in the red zone because of how well he scrambles, uncovers, and earns position to win the ball.
After the catch, Burden is one of the two best runners in the open field in this receiver class. The other, Savion Williams, might wind up a very good NFL running back.
Burden catches and pierces with excellent acceleration. When catching the ball on a route breaking to the boundary, he’ll set up defenders with a step or two where he obeys the ball. He’ll then make a tight spin inside to catch the defender over-pursuing.
Burden sees the field well as a receiver. He knows how to use the boundary as his weapon to break back inside. He also uses his blockers and isn’t afraid to split defenders – and teammates on defenders – to make a straight path to the end zone.
He’s a patient runner behind blockers, setting them up with pacing and movement to press blocks and exploit the cutback. Although he’s good at taking what the defense gives him and splitting players to work in a straight line, Burden is creative and willing to reverse field. When he does, he exhausts other options and sets up the reversal with presses downfield much earlier to draw the defense.
He’s good at setting up cutbacks and bounces with presses and coordinated footwork—even quick combinations of movement.
Burden has excellent short-area quickness and can make multiple defenders miss in traffic. He uses quick turns, stop-start movements, and efficient stutters to make defenders miss in a phone booth.
One of the reasons is that he can make defenders miss is his quick deceleration with the drop of his weight and jump cut away from opponents.
He has excellent patience and suddenness with his double up as an open-field runner. Burden layers moves in succession that are efficient and dynamic.
When taking fly sweeps, Burden can transition from a perimeter runway to a downhill runway with two quick steps. He has a sharp lateral cut and he’ll use lateral movement to press creases on perimeter plays to set up cutbacks to the inside.
Burden also has an effective spin to the inside as he’s exiting the crease and taking on the defender over the top.
Burden’s quickness helps him pull through multiple reaches in traffic. His pad level is good enough to duck under reaches of defenders and pull through. He keeps his feet moving through contact, and he has a well-timed stiff-arm to work through reaches to his frame and shrug off defenders in the open field.
He may not be ready to become the team’s primary receiver this year because he’s not a dominant press-man receiver at the line of scrimmage, but he’ll be an excellent slot-flanker option who can do just about everything else at a high level.
Burden gives a team so many ways to move the ball and score points, it’s going to be fun to watch. If he were in last year’s draft, I would have taken him ahead of Marvin Harrison, Jr. – and annual subscribers know there was not a bit of hindsight analysis embedded into that statement.
Releases: Burden aligns in a staggered stance with 80/20 weight distribution favoring his front foot. His arms hang at either side of his knee. Burden sinks lower into his stance and releases from the line with his pads over his knees, his head up, and without waisted motion. He rolls off his front foot. Burden can improve his arm motion to cultivate a sprinter’s gait and better sell the possibility of the deep route.
When setting up a two-man route combination as the inside receiver waiting out the outside receiver to go deep, Burden uses a double-up to change the pace of the route and set up the defenders playing over him.
He has a sudden two-quick, but can improve the pacing to set it up. Burden uses a one-step stretch to steal a release in the running game. His three-quick is sudden when setting up an inside break at the top of a stem against off-coverage.
There isn’t a contrast with patience and suddenness with most of his footwork off the line, but he sets up the stick with a patient-but-sudden quality. He also uses a delayed double-up that’s sudden when executed.
Birden has a hesitation but uses it more against off-coverage and could benefit to use it in combination with other footwork.
At the top of stems against zone coverage, Burden sets up the defender with a stick and counters with a shed. Against outside-shade coverage getting a bump during the initial release, Burden reduces the shoulder.
The only combinations of footwork and hand counters at the line of scrimmage against a defender that I’ve seen in four games was a read step and a shoulder reduction (Auburn) and a pair of two quicks and a wipe counter (Alabama). I have seen a two-quick and shed counter at the top of a stem that was performed in succession.
He earned separation with both. He stacked the Alabama defender but the defender was in C3 and the S didn’t bite hard on the play fake, which gave him time to cut off the vertical shot for the interception.
Burden attempts hand counters that aren’t the best choice for the position of the defender. For instance, it makes no sense to do a shoulder reduction at full speed with a defender about to cut off his path downfield and his hands are at his chest. A rip, wipe, or slot makes more sense.
Separation: Burden can accelerate past cornerbacks that have an angle on him in the open field. He can beat cornerbacks at the line of scrimmage on vertical and deep routes. He’ll also stack them early or late.
Late in routes, Burden can use one hand to frame separation and catch the ball with the other on vertical targets.
Route Stems: Against off coverage with significant cushion, Burden will give brief stem to the outside to enforce the defender’s widen position but doesn’t oversell it if he already has the position on a shallower route.
Against off coverage, Burden will give a pace change to set up his stem and break.
Route Setups: Burden shows his head and eyes at the top of stems to sell the stem leading into the break. On vertical routes, Burden will work into the back of the defender before breaking back to the inside or outside.
Route Breaks: With shallow out-breaking routes, Burden has a tight speed break with a sharp drive step and flat line step. Burden punches the boundary-side arm and generates snap with his turns. His head gets around to the quarterback quickly.
After five games, I’ve only seen Burden execute one hard break with weight drop, but he can do it on an intermediate route that breaks outside and deliver a flat break.
Zone Routes: When breaking across a zone, Burden tempos his break pace to maximize his availability. He also tempos his stems before breaking into the open zone so he’s helping his teammates’ routes set up the space he’ll break into.
Burden identifies the second-level defender and zone triangle. He works to depth and settles into the open area, presenting a friendly target to his quarterback. When working vertical routes through a zone, Burden doesn’t show his eyes until he has passed the rollover or buzz defender.
When his first break doesn’t earn a target, he’ll work with his quarterback as the passer breaks the pocket.
Route Boundary: Burden is aware of the boundary and toe taps to stay in bounds when facing the target. He can also drag his feet at the boundary.
Pass Tracking: Burden tracks the ball behind his break path on sail routes, turning his pads to address the ball with his hands. He tracks the ball over his shoulder on routes of all distances and he uses overhand position as his first-choice with attacking routes with his back to the quarterback.
Burden doesn’t leave his feet unnecessarily for targets arriving over his head. He can high-point with out leaving his feet. He also tracks the ball over his shoulder and makes one-handed grabs in the vertical game against tight coverage.
Like using late hands, something he also executes well, Burden can work the scramble drill to a vertical target, stay with the DB tight, and lead the DB in one direction before uncovering late to where the ball will arrive in the opposite direction.
Hands/Catch Radius: Burden attacks targets at the numbers and pads with overhand position. He’ll catch targets near his waist with underhand attack. He tracks targets behind his break path and extends well for the ball with overhand position.
Burden extends his arms with overhand attack to earn targets away from his frame. He’ll also extend to attack at the earliest window of arrival. His hands can be tighter when attacking to prevent the potential of targets go through his hands. I haven’t seen this happen, but when the hands are wide enough most receivers experience this problem with high-velocity throws at the NFL level.
Position: Burden has an effective jump up and through, pullback, and embracing of the fall.
Focus: Burden can take contact to his back and/or chest when catching the football. He also tracks the ball over his shoulder and makes one-handed grabs in the vertical game against tight coverage. He can win downfield between two defenders tight to him while tracking the ball over his shoulder.
Transitions: Burden catches and pierces with excellent acceleration. When catching the ball on a route breaking to the boundary, he’ll set up defenders with a step or two where he obeys the ball. He’ll then make a tight spin inside to catch the defender overo-pursuing.
Elusiveness: Burden has excellent short-area quickness and can make multiple defenders miss in traffic. He uses quick turns, stop-start movements, and efficient stutters to make defenders miss in a phone booth.
One of the reasons is that he can make defenders miss is his quick deceleration with the drop of his weight and jump cut away from opponents.
He has excellent patience and suddenness with his double up as an open-field runner. Burden layers moves in succession that are efficient and dynamic.
When taking fly sweeps, Burden can transition from a perimeter runway to a downhill runway with two quick steps. He has a sharp lateral cut and he’ll use lateral movement to press creases on perimeter plays to set up cutbacks to the inside.
Burden has an effective spin to the inside as he’s exiting the crease and taking on the defender over the top.
Vision: Burden sees the field well as a receiver. He knows how to use the boundary as his weapon to break back inside. He also uses his blockers and isn’t afraid to split defenders – and teammates on defenders – to make a straight path to the end zone.
He’s a patient runner behind blockers, setting them up with pacing and movement to press blocks and exploit the cutback. Although he’s good at taking what the defense gives him and splitting players to work in a straight line, Burden is creative and willing to reverse field. When he does, he exhausts other options and sets up the reversal with presses downfield much earlier to draw the defense.
He’s good at setting up cutbacks and bounces with presses and coordinated footwork—even quick combinations of movement.
Power: Burden’s quickness helps him pull through multiple reaches in traffic. His pad level is good enough to duck under reaches of defenders and pull through. He keeps his feet moving through contact.
Burden has a well-timed stiff-arm to work through reaches to his frame and shrug off defenders in the open field.
Direct Contact Balance: Burden at least stalemates cornerbacks striking him directly and can push forward for additional yardage. He can win a collision with a safety coming downhill and extend forward through the hit. He also stalemates off-ball linebackers when hit high.
Indirect Contact Balance: Burden drops the pads and bounces off glancing shots from cornerbacks and safeties. He’ll drop the hammer on a cornerback in the open field.
Ball Security: Burden carries the ball high to his chest. The elbow swings as he runs in the open field, but it remains tight to his side. He takes contact to his ball-carrying arm without losing security. He uses the correct arm based on the side of the field he’s running or the position of pursuit.
Larger defenders that blindside him can shake the ball free, if struck on the elbow.
Blocking: Burden breaks down within two yards of his opponents as a lead blocker on Man Over Me assignments. He delivers his arms with an uppercut motion. The elbows are bent, the arms are tight, and he aims for the chest.
Burden is in a square and squat position and he shuffles his feet well laterally. He must close the gap between himself and the defender so he doesn’t get thrown aside as easily after establishing contact.
Because he doesn’t close the gap tight enough or throw a true uppercut with force as a stalk blocker, Burden’s efforts serve as either a wall-off blocker or a small speedbump for a defender.
When force to throw a punch – for instance, sealing a linebacker or safety at the edge as the tight receiver on trips, Burden overextends and leads with a pad rather than anchoring and striking. This method increases the chances of a defender working around him and avoiding the block immediately.
When Burden is accurate the strike is effective enough to temporarily slow the defender, but he’s out of position to sustain contact and control the opponent. I’ve seen one uppercut punch with an attempt to roll through the hips during the strike in three games (Auburn), but he overextended into the contact and the roll through the hips was uncoordinated with the strike.
Durability: No significant injuries during career.
Pre-NFL Draft Fantasy Advice: Burden is a top-three pick for me in this class regardless of when you’re drafting. I’m 95 percent sure I’ll feel that way regardless of landing spot. The nice thing for most of you in dynasty leagues is that the favorite No.1 overall selection is Tetairoa McMillan.
If you’re savvy about your league, you might have the opportunity to trade down from an early spot, collect a receiver who would have been a top-three talent in last year’s class, and get another pick for doing so.
Boiler/Film Room Material (Links to plays):
- Attack, Transitions, Vision/Open-Field Decision-Making
- Patience, pacing, and stiff arm
- Mature reversal of field
- Release, stem, stair-step, tracking, attack, focus.
- Scramble drill, uncovers late, drags feet
- 2024 Highlights
- 2023 Highlights
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