Fantasy Fallout: Chicago Picks Luther Burden

Chicago is making a concerted effort to get weapons for Caleb Williams, drafting Colston Loveland at No. 10 overall and Luther Burden III in the early second round on Friday evening. Burden will immediately be the WR3 for Chicago and can immediately fill in the slot role vacated by Keenan Allen. Let’s break this pick down from a fantasy standpoint.

LUTHER BURDEN

• Burden led Missouri with six receiving touchdowns as a freshman (third among WRs in yards) before really stepping into the limelight as a sophomore with 1,212 receiving yards and a 37% Dominator Rating (a stat that measures what percent of a team’s overall passing offense was controlled by one player). While Burden didn’t have the target competition of some of the other top WRs in this class and had an easier time posting a monster Dominator Rating as a result, that sophomore-year breakout is still a key predictor of NFL success. While Burden still had a productive junior year, he was outperformed by Theo Wease, a sixth-year WR who played well behind Burden the year prior. That drop-off in production is certainly curious, and Burden’s low average depth of target throughout his college career raises questions about whether he can win down the field consistently at the next level. However, he’s clearly dynamic with the ball in his hands, and Missouri made a concerted effort to feed him the ball by giving him carries (234 career rushing yards) and punt returns. Burden also has elite pedigree (former five-star recruit) and athleticism, and Daniel Jeremiah compared him to Stefon Diggs. His last season in Columbia wasn’t ideal, but there’s still plenty to like here.