Luther Burden III
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
_(cropped).jpg) 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 | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||
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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.
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] In Week 17, he had eight receptions for 138 yards and a touchdown in the 42–38 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.[23] He finished his rookie season with 47 receptions for 652 yards and two touchdowns.[24]
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 |