9 hours Ago By Amelia Hurley
GREEN BAY, Wis. — After weeks of doubt and speculation, Luther Burden III is NFL-bound. Burden was selected by the Chicago Bears as the No.
39 overall pick at the 2025 NFL Draft on Friday night. He was the second Mizzou player off the board, following All-SEC offensive tackle Armand Membou, who was the No. 7 overall pick to the New York Jets on Thursday.
Burden's selection by the Bears also finalizes the blockbuster 2023 trade between the Panthers and Chicago that sent the 2023 No. 1 overall pick to Carolina that turned into quarterback Bryce Young. For the Bears, the trade resulted in wide receiver DJ Moore, 2023 first-round pick OT Darnell Wright, 2023 second-round pick CB Tyrique Stevenson, 2024 No.
1 overall pick QB Caleb Williams and now Burden. The 6-foot, 206-pound former Mizzou wideout is the 16th player to be drafted during coach Eli Drinkwitz's tenure at Mizzou. Drinkwitz is coming off of one of the most successful Mizzou draft appearances following the 2023 season, where six former Tigers — defensive end Darius Robinson, cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr.
, linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper, left tackle Javon Foster, cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine and safety Jaylon Carlies — all earned selections. This year's draft marks the 21st consecutive year Missouri has had a player selected in the draft. Now, after staying home for three collegiate seasons, the former five-star recruit, No.
1 wide receiver and No. 3 overall player in the Class of 2022 will stay close to home. The Bears finished 5-12 last season.
After the pick, Burden told reporters that he hadn't spoken much with the Bears before he got the call. Chicago took tight end Colston Loveland with the No. 10 pick in the first round Thursday.
After using their first Round 2 pick on Burden, the Bears grabbed offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo (No. 56) and defensive tackle Shemar Turner (No. 62).
Burden joins Williams, who could have been his quarterback if he didn't decommit from Oklahoma before coming to Mizzou and if Williams didn't transfer to USC for the 2022-23 seasons. "The world works in mysterious ways. I'm excited to finally unite with him and get to work," Burden said.
Long-time NFL insider Bob McGinn collected anonymous scouting reports on the top wide receivers leading up to this year's draft. While some applauded Burden's elusiveness and strength, others had less-than-positive reviews of the receiver that put his draft stock into question throughout April. “One of the worst practice players you’ve ever seen, but his talent on the field makes you take notice," one scout said.
“He’s a five-star, they kiss his ass for three years just to keep him there,” another scout said. “The girlfriend is his manager. The mom is a problem.
But he’s a good player on Saturday and he’s very ordinary Monday through Friday. "If you take him, you’re gritting your teeth that you’re going to have a (Sunday) player who isn’t going to add much to your team the other five, six days of the week. He’s a shaky first-rounder and a little more of a second-rounder because you can’t get anybody to really sign off on a clean bill of health as far as the personality and the intangibles.
" Burden's second-round selection comes off of a solid performance at the NFL Combine, where he ran the 40-yard dash in just 4.41 seconds. He earned praise for his performance in the gauntlet drill, as well.
The 2024 All-Southeastern Conference first team recipient finished his Mizzou career with 192 receptions for 2,263 yards and 21 touchdowns across 38 games. His 2023 campaign entrenched him in Mizzou history, from the critical fourth-and-17 catch in a win over Florida to the game-sealing score in the Cotton Bowl victory over Ohio State. He ended his tenure at Mizzou ranking fourth in receptions, tied for fifth in receiving touchdowns and sixth in receiving yards.
Once projected to be a top-10 pick before the 2024 season began, the Tigers' inconsistencies on offense lowered his numbers. He tallied 61 catches for 676 yards and six scores throughout the 2024 season, a drop off compared to his 86 catches for 1,212 yards and nine trips to the end zone in 2023. Luther Burden III's Instagram story after Round 1 of the NFL Draft concluded Thursday.
Shortly after posting this photo, Burden took down the story and reposted it without the text. Shortly after Round 1 of the NFL Draft concluded, Burden posted an Instagram story of him at the Mizzou Football Stephens Indoor Facility. He took a photo of the indoor turf with a football, helmet, mouth guard, gold gloves, car keys, a cleat and a sandal.
"Ima show dey ahh," the text on the photo said, followed by an emoji with a thin-lined mouth below the 12:52 a.m. timestamp.
Soon after he posted the story, he removed it and reposted the photo sans the text. He also visited X after the first night of the NFL Draft concluded, posting "Ok kool!" after Round 1 concluded and "I been da underdog my whole life dats how I like it..
.." Friday morning.
When Burden's name was called, he celebrated from a suite in the Mizzou football facility newly dedicated to his former mentor , Demetrious "DJ" Johnson. DJ was the one to initially convince Burden to decommit from the Sooners and stay home with the Tigers. "Luther is going to have his draft party here in the Demetrious Johnson recruiting lounge.
It’s going to be right here, and I think that’s an awesome tie-in for DJ to be watching when Lu gets drafted,” Drinkwitz told the Missourian after the dedication April 9. Jalen Allen, left, and Luther Burden III pose for a photo after Burden was drafted by the Chicago Bears on Friday, April 25, 2025, in the Demetrious Johnson Player Lounge at Faurot Field in Columbia. Some players still available from Mizzou include former defensive end Johnny Walker Jr.
, wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. and quarterback Brady Cook. Rounds 4-7 of the draft are set to start at 11 a.
m. Saturday..
