‘Proving everybody wrong’: Luther Burden ready for next chapter on Chicago Bears
The next chapter of Luther Burden’s story will come in Chicago.
How this one was written, though, wasn’t necessarily as planned.
Burden was, at one point, considered a first-round draft pick. Entering the 2024 college football season, some analysts envisioned him going top 10. That was after a sophomore campaign in which he posted 86 receptions for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns and finished as a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist.
Did Burden think he would be a first-round pick?
“Of course,” he told media members in his first news conference as a member of the Chicago Bears on Friday.
Burden was instrumental for a Mizzou squad that won the Cotton Bowl that year (2023). That Tigers offense averaged 32.5 points per game, ranking fifth in the SEC in yards per game at 435.1.
If Burden’s junior year in Columbia matched those numbers, the first-round projections very well could have come to fruition.
But the Tigers’ offense seemingly regressed in 2024, and Burden’s stats declined as a result. Mizzou dropped to 11th in the conference in yards per game (389.5) and averaged 28.9 points. For Burden, the decline meant 676 receiving yards with six touchdowns on 61 receptions.
“I would just say the opportunities given,” Burden said of what he viewed as the cause of change in production. “There were a lot more opportunities my sophomore year.”
Perhaps that was part of why his name wasn’t called on Day 1 of the NFL Draft. But it didn’t stop Burden from working, as he posted to his Instagram that he had a midnight workout following the draft’s first round.
“(I was) in my head. The field’s an escape for me, it always has been,” Burden said. “I felt like I needed to hit the field last night and clear my head for today.”
He continued.
“I’m going to get some work (while) everybody’s celebrating, and I’m going to do the same thing tonight,” Burden added.
As for his new team: The Bears had several perceived draft needs under new head coach Ben Johnson. They’d already selected a tight end in Colston Loveland at No. 10 overall, and several mocks projected they’d look at running backs, edge rushers, safeties or offensive tackles.
Wide receiver didn’t seem to be a major need. The Bears already had a star-studded receiving corps for quarterback Caleb Williams between DJ Moore and Rome Odunze.
But Burden’s name was called with the Bears’ second-round pick, No. 39 overall.
Burden said he had limited contact with the Bears, thus he told media members he was surprised the call came from them.
Still, Burden does have some familiarity — namely with Williams. Burden originally committed to Oklahoma in 2020, where he was set to be teammates with last year’s No. 1 NFL Draft selection. Of course, Burden ultimately decommitted and went to Mizzou, but he said the two had been following each other on social media and that he’s watched Williams play.
“The world works in mysterious ways,” Burden said. “I’m excited to finally unite with him and get to work.”
Burden now enters a receiving room with not just Moore and Odunze, but also the Bears’ other offseason receiver additions in veterans Devin Duvernay and Olamide Zaccheaus. Loveland is also a dynamic pass-catching addition for Chicago.
With all the talent surrounding him, Burden is confident in his ability to be a Year 1 contributor for the Bears.
“I’ve got to learn the playbook and take it day by day,” Burden said. “And just be me. (It’s) what I’ve been doing my whole life, proving everybody wrong. That’s my mindset.”
