Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers are projected to draft Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III in the 2025 NFL Draft.
It’s no secret the Pittsburgh Steelers have been trying to add another playmaker to their wide receiver room since last offseason. That’s why they’re projected to land one of the top wide receivers in the 2025 NFL Draft.
In its latest mock draft, Sports Illustrated has the Steelers selecting Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III with their first-round pick (No. 21 overall).
“George Pickens was Pittsburgh’s lone receiver with 40 or more catches and 600-plus receiving yards. He’s also a free agent after the 2025 season,” Daniel Flick writes. “Adding a complementary piece alongside Pickens is important, no matter who leads the Steelers under center next fall. Burden is an uber-explosive playmaker who’s impressive in run-after-catch settings, mixing quickness with physicality. He scored six touchdowns through the air and two on the ground in ’24.”
Burden is just the second wide receiver off the board after the New Orleans Saints drafted Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan at No. 9 overall. However, Flick seems to believe Burden is the better prospect over other top-ranked wide receivers Matthew Golden of Texas and Emeka Egbuka of Ohio State.
Burden is a junior who played all three seasons of his collegiate career at Missouri. The 5-foot-11, 208-pound wide receiver had his most productive season in 2023 when he recorded 86 catches for 1,212 and nine touchdowns.
However, he still proved to be a difference-maker with the ball in his hands in 2024 as he registered 61 catches for 676 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns while drawing comparisons to San Francisco 49ers star wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
Samuel seemed to have lost a step last season, but if Burden turns out to be anything like him, the Steelers would be lucky to land him at No. 21 overall.
Pittsburgh has been searching for another playmaker to pair with wide receiver George Pickens in its offense. Burden could prove to be exactly what the team has been missing.
The Steelers will likely add a wide receiver or two in free agency, but that shouldn’t stop them from drafting a playmaker like Burden if he’s the best player available on the board when they are on the clock.
