Bears' Luther Burden has best recruiting pedigree in entire NFL Draft, now teams up with Caleb Williams

Billy Heyen

Bears' Luther Burden has best recruiting pedigree in entire NFL Draft, now teams up with Caleb Williams image

There was not an offensive recruit in the country who rivaled Luther Burden III.

In his 2022 class, Burden was the No. 1 offensive player in the land. In some rankings, he was No. 1 overall. Certainly, he was the top receiver.

The Bears just got him with the No. 39 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, early in Friday's second round.

It's an offensive trend for Chicago, which already drafted tight end Colston Loveland in the first round.

Burden's best Missouri season was actually his sophomore year. He went for 86 catches, 1,212 yards and seven TDs.

SN's NFL DRAFT HQ: Live tracker | Pick-by-pick grades | Best players still available

In 2024, he had 61 catches for 676 yards and six scores.

Burden is a dominant after-the-catch player with the ball in his hands.

He'll couple with second-year WR Rome Odunze to give Williams two long-term targets in Chicago.

Burden has as much talent as any receiver out there.

If the Bears can tap into it, new head coach Ben Johnson will have a ton of fun calling plays.

MORE NFL DRAFT:

Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle