Luther Burden was one of the best wide receivers in college football in 2023, one of only a handful to ever post 1200+ yards in a season before his junior year. Unfortunately, various circumstances led to his production dropping last year. That, along with rumors of maturity issues, resulted in him falling out of the 1st round. The Chicago Bears took advantage, landing him with the 39th overall pick. Nobody disputes the talent. He has all the tools in the bag to become a great player. What people don't know is what to expect between the ears.
One person who isn't concerned is his wide receivers coach from Missouri, Jacob Peeler. The man has been around the game a long time and has coached several good players. According to Courtney Cronin of ESPN, Burden reminds him of one in particular.
Missouri wide receivers coach Jacob Peeler saw some of the same traits in Burden that he saw in Philadelphia Eagles star A.J. Brown, whom Peeler coached at Ole Miss.
After Brown's first season at Ole Miss, where he lined up predominantly out wide, Peeler moved him into the slot, which resulted in back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and Brown becoming the school's all-time leading receiver.
The similarities show up quite a bit. Brown was a 2nd round pick as well, known for his rare mix of size and foot quickness. He also had a reputation for being passive against tough competition and not always being focused. That didn't stop him from becoming one of the NFL's best.
Luther Burden already has the same chip on his shoulder that Brown did.
The eventual Pro Bowler and world champion had two outstanding seasons for Ole Miss in college. He didn't experience any drop-off during his final season, but still fell to the 2nd round. In hindsight, he had every reason to be upset. From how it sounds, so does Luther Burden. Talent isn't the reason he fell. It is more of the classic pre-draft nitpicking that occurs every year. Many of the issues were out of his control. He never stopped playing hard and never caused controversies despite a supposed reputation for being coddled. If Brown found a way to show everybody they made a mistake, Burden can too. He landed in a perfect situation to make that happen. He'll have a coach who understands how to use him and a quarterback who can get him the ball. If he truly is the next Brown, it will go down as one of the Bears' greatest steals.
