It’s no secret that the Dallas Cowboys are expected to target a wide receiver with their first pick. Tetairoa McMillan and Matthew Golden have been the two names rumored for the Cowboys for a few months now and it would be a slight surprise if they picked anyone else with their first-round pick.
But there is another player who should certainly be in the conversation at No. 12, and you can argue that he should be selected over both McMillan and Golden. And that player is none other than Luther Burden III from Missouri.
Why Luther Burden should be the Cowboys' target at No. 12 overall
It wasn’t that long ago that Burden was considered one of the best players in the class. In one of the earliest versions of the expert consensus board, Burden was easily a top 15 player and was frequently mocked to the Cowboys at pick No. 12. In fact, that is who Dane Brugler and Mel Kiper Jr. both mocked to Dallas early in January.
The Cowboys have clearly shown interest in Burden as he has already toured the facility as one of their 30 visits. But how much interest do the Cowboys have in this former SEC star? That remains to be seen.
Burden’s stock has taken a hit over the last month and it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Burden ran a 4.41 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, measuring in at 6’0, 206 pounds. His production dropped off in 2024, but he is still only one of six players in SEC history to record at least 1,200 receiving yards during a sophomore season:
Here is the list of every SEC WR to post 1,200 or more rec. yards during their freshman or sophomore season:
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) April 11, 2025
Ja'Marr Chase - 1,780
Alshon Jeffery - 1,517
Mike Evans - 1,394
Jerry Jeudy - 1,315
A.J. Brown - 1,252
Luther Burden - 1,212
The Cowboys need a No. 2 receiver to complement CeeDee Lamb, and Burden might be the best fit in the class. He is incredibly dynamic with the ball in his hands, but don’t mistake him for a gadget player. Burden does an excellent job of making plays down the field, and he’s got the size and quickness to win at every level.
He’s going to need some time to get used to an NFL route tree, but that’s the case for almost every receiver coming into the league. Lamb had similar concerns coming out of Oklahoma’s offense and it’s one of the reasons he fell to pick No. 17 and was the third receiver drafted in his class.
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Burden is a special talent and there are some shades of Rashee Rice to his game. But he has even more top-end speed, which could allow him to play more on the outside if needed. There is also an element of Deebo Samuel to his game, but he's a much more natural receiver and his college production is significantly better.
We’ve seen Burden falling to the second round of several mock drafts over the last month and that feels like a mistake. Burden was one of the best players in the SEC over the last two seasons and the Cowboys would be wise to scoop him up and pair him with Lamb for the foreseeable future.
Maybe picking him at No. 12 feels like a reach, and a slight trade back would make selecting him more palatable. Or, maybe everyone just has some prospect fatigue and he is still one of the top 15 prospects in this class. But Burden would be one of the best picks the Cowboys could make at No. 12, regardless of the current consensus board.
Luther Burden III. No matter what.