Luther Burden III
Burden with the Chicago Bears in 2025 | |||||||||
| No. 10 – Chicago Bears | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positions | Wide receiver Kickoff returner | ||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | December 12, 2003 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | East St. Louis (IL) | ||||||||
| College | Missouri (2022–2024) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 2025: 2nd round, 39th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Luther Burden III (born December 12, 2003) is an American professional football wide receiver and kickoff returner for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Missouri Tigers and was selected by the Bears in the second round of the 2025 NFL draft.
Early life
Burden was born on December 12, 2003, in St. Louis, Missouri,[1][2] later attending East St. Louis Senior High School.[3][4] He played both basketball and football and was ranked by ESPN as the top offensive recruit in the class of 2022.[5][6] 247Sports and Rivals.com ranked him within the top five nationally.[7][8]
Burden received 41 total college scholarship offers,[8] eventually narrowing his final options to Alabama, Georgia, and Missouri. In October 2021, he committed to Missouri. He was only the fourth consensus five-star recruit signed by Missouri in the past 20 years, after Dorial Green-Beckham, Terry Beckner Jr. and Blaine Gabbert.[9]
College career
Burden made his collegiate debut on September 1, 2022, catching three passes for 17 yards and had two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving.[10] On September 17, he had a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown against Abilene Christian.[11] In the 2022 season, he had 45 receptions for 375 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns to go with two rushing touchdowns.[12]
In the 2023 season, Burden led the team with 83 receptions for 1,197 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns prior to the bowl game. He had five consecutive games during the season going over 100 receiving yards.[13][14] On December 2, 2024, Burden declared for the 2025 NFL draft.[15]
Statistics
| Season | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2022 | Missouri | 13 | 10 | 45 | 375 | 8.3 | 6 | 18 | 88 | 4.9 | 2 |
| 2023 | Missouri | 13 | 13 | 86 | 1,212 | 14.1 | 9 | 7 | 31 | 4.4 | 0 |
| 2024 | Missouri | 12 | 10 | 61 | 676 | 11.1 | 6 | 9 | 115 | 12.8 | 2 |
| Career | 38 | 33 | 192 | 2,263 | 11.8 | 21 | 34 | 234 | 6.9 | 4 | |
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
206 lb (93 kg) |
31+1⁄4 in (0.79 m) |
8+1⁄2 in (0.22 m) |
4.41 s | 1.54 s | 2.58 s | ||||||
| All values from NFL Combine[16][17] | ||||||||||||
Burden was selected by the Chicago Bears with the 39th pick in the second round of the 2025 NFL draft.[18][19] He began his rookie season as one of the Bears' slot receivers.[20] In Week 3 against the Dallas Cowboys, Burden caught his first touchdown on a 65-yard flea flicker as the Bears won 31–14;[21] he ended the game with three receptions for 101 yards and seven rushing yards.[22]
NFL career statistics
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Kick return | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2025 | CHI | 15 | 5 | 47 | 652 | 13.9 | 65 | 2 | 6 | 37 | 6.2 | 15 | 0 | 8 | 223 | 27.9 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Postseason
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2025 | CHI | 2 | 1 | 6 | 66 | 11.0 | 25 | 0 | 2 | -4 | -2.0 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Personal life
Burden's grandfather, Luther Burden, played in the ABA for the Virginia Squires and in the NBA for the New York Knicks.[23][24]
References
- ^ "Luther Burden III Biography". ESPN. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
- ^ Miller, Corey (June 17, 2023). "Mizzou star receiver Luther Burden gives back with football camp at childhood Boys & Girls Club field". KSDK. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
- ^ Luther 3. "Football Meets Fashion". Luther 3. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Hochman, Benjamin (December 29, 2023). "Hochman: 'It just saved my life.' How Mizzou's Luther Burden III emerged at a STL Boys and Girls Club". STLtoday.com. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
- ^ Kvidahl, David (May 9, 2021). "What a Catch: Receiver dominated for Lions in fall, Flyers in spring". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. D11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "2022 ESPN 300". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
- ^ "Luther Burden". 247Sports. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
- ^ a b "Luther Burden". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
- ^ Kvidahl, David (October 20, 2021). "Burden Picks Mizzou: Five-star WR ready to 'turn Mizzou around'". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. pp. B1, B6 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Louisiana Tech at Missouri Box Score, September 1, 2022". Sports Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ "Abilene Christian at Missouri Box Score, September 17, 2022". Sports Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ "Luther Burden III 2022 Game Log". Sports Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ "2023 Missouri Tigers Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ "Luther Burden III 2023 Game Log". Sports Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ Simmons, Myles (December 2, 2024). "Top WR prospect Luther Burden III declares for 2025 NFL Draft". NBC Sports. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
- ^ Reuter, Chad; Zierlein, Lance. "Luther Burden III Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ "Luther Burden III College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ Jones, Nathalie (April 25, 2025). "Luther Burden drafted by the Bears with No. 39 overall pick". KMIZ. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
- ^ "Chicago Bears select WR Luther Burden III in second round of 2025 NFL Draft". ChicagoBears.com. April 25, 2025.
- ^ Cruce, Sebastian (October 6, 2025). "How Luther Burden III is making an early impact in Chicago". The Maneater. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
- ^ Wiederer, Dan (September 22, 2025). "How a 65-yard flea flicker ignited the Chicago Bears' first win". The New York Times. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
- ^ "Every Luther Burden catch and run from 108-yard game vs. Cowboys | Week 3". National Football League. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
- ^ Hammond, Sean (July 13, 2025). "Chicago Bears rookie outlook: Where does Luther Burden III's electric playmaking best fit in with WR corps?". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
- ^ Weber, Bruce (November 3, 2015). "Ticky Burden, Former All-American and Knick Who Fell Into Crime, Dies at 62". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 27, 2025. Retrieved September 30, 2025.