Player Description
Name: Luther Burden III
School: Missouri
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Junior
Height: 5'11
Weight: 208 lbs
Draft Projection: Mid to late Day 1
Strengths:
Tough and highly competitive
Strong, reliable hands
Excellent ball-tracking skills
Exceptional YAC (yards after catch) abilities
Optimal separation in the slot
Wins one-on-one on the boundary
Consummate playmaker
High-level understanding of how to attack leverage
Eats up space in man coverage
Fluid hips; able to change directions without breaking stride
Great field awareness
Extremely versatile
Good initial burst off the line
Weaknesses:
What's surprising about Burden III is his limited route tree. In the slot, he generally runs a crossing route, a fade, or a straight seam; apart from these routes, he doesn't have much else in his arsenal.
With a smaller frame and limited vertical speed, Burden III is likely not as effective on the outside, which could limit his playmaking potential at the next level. The few times he's played on the outside, he fails to achieve the same level of separation he gets when playing in the slot. Much of this could be a result of how Missouri utilized him in their offense.
Though he's a willing pass blocker, he lacks the strength and physicality to be consistently effective in this area. Burden III has a lot of work to do with both his hand placement and pad level.
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