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Luther Burden III<\/a> spent the final year of his college football<\/a> career as a projected first-round NFL Draft<\/a> pick. Even after his production tumbled in his final season at Missouri, the 2023 All-American wide receiver still figured to be a Day 1 selection. Instead, Burden slipped out of the first round and the Chicago Bears<\/a> scooped him up with the No. 39 overall pick. The underwhelming result did not sit well with Burden, he said after the draft.<\/p>\n Four wide receivers flew off the board before Burden. Tetairoa McMillan<\/a>, Emeka Egbuka<\/a> and Matthew Golden<\/a> each heard their names called in the first round, while Jayden Higgins<\/a> preceded the former SEC standout in the second round. In turn, Burden had a message for the teams that looked elsewhere for a rookie pass-catcher.<\/p>\n “That’s staying with me forever,” Burden said<\/a>. “Everybody who passed up on me gotta pay.”<\/p>\n Although his draft position came as a disappointment, Burden has a chance to become one of the faces of an exciting, young Bears offensive core. He links up with second-year quarterback Caleb Williams<\/a> as a potential catalyst for a unit that ranked 31st in the NFL<\/a> last season in passing yards.<\/p>\n “I feel like he’s a great quarterback,” Burden said last month of Williams<\/a>. “I feel like great quarterbacks need great receivers. So, perfect fit.”<\/p>\n The Bears boast a crowded receiving corps with DJ Moore<\/a> and Rome Odunze<\/a> back for the 2025 season. Burden will contend with that tandem for targets in a new system, which first-year coach Ben Johnson brings with him from the Detroit Lions<\/a>. The former offensive coordinator orchestrated the highest-scoring unit in the NFL last season and unleashed an explosive aerial attack, which torched defenses for just shy of 4,500 passing yards.<\/p>\n Burden was an immediate impact addition to the Missouri roster in 2022 after he moved up to college as a five-star recruit<\/a> from the high school ranks. It was not until the following season, though, that the St. Louis native became a household name in the SEC. Burden and breakthrough signal-caller Brady Cook<\/a> teamed up for a tremendous campaign and together connected 86 times for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns.<\/p>\n That season placed Burden in the top 10 nationally in receiving and top five in the SEC for a number of offensive categories. He racked up All-American honors and was a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist.<\/p>\n Burden entered 2024 as one of the top returning players in college football, but he and the rest of the Missouri offense sustained a setback. His numbers diminished to a modest yet still considerably productive 61 receptions, 676 yards and six touchdowns. Still, Burden landed on the All-SEC first team and will now try to carve out a role for himself in Chicago.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n