The case for Mizzou's Luther Burden as college football's 'most complete receiver'

Wednesday morning on the On3 YouTube channel, Andy Staples and Cody Bellaire drafted their ultimate college football teams ahead of the 2024 season, with Bellaire making a splashy first selection on the offensive side of the football.

As has come to be the case in the actual NFL Draft, wide receivers have never been more valuable in this pass-focused era of football. Sure, the college level doesn’t feature quite the passing attack most NFL teams have, but the best teams still tend to have stars on the outside. So that’s why Bellaire decided to nab his star WR early in the draft, selecting who he believes is the best wideout in CFB.

“Not much to explain here really, but Luther Burden is simply the most complete receiver in the country,” Bellaire explained as he selected the Missouri junior.

“He’s dynamic with the ball in his hands, finishing top five in the FBS in yards after catch,” Bellaire added. “He has ridiculously strong hands at the catch point, dropping only four of his 94 catchable targets. He can run every route on the route tree, plus he has the ability to get vertical downfield with his 4.4 speed.”

Obviously the physical talent has always been there for Burden. It’s why he came out of high school as a five-star prospect, the No. 1 wide receiver and No. 6 overall player in the class of 2022, per the On3 Industry Rankings. But since he’s gotten to college, Bellaire has seen a versatility, in addition to the physical traits, that sets Burden up for a monster third season.

“I can line him up at X, I can line him up at Z, I can line him up in the slot. He can win at every level of the field and he is the clear No. 1 pass catcher in college football next season,” Bellaire asserted.

“But most importantly,” he added, “he’s the clear No. 1 pass catcher for Cody Bellaire University and No. 1 choice on the offensive side of the ball.”

There you have it. Of all the offensive players in the country in 2024, On3’s Cody Bellaire has Mizzou wideout Luther Burden pegged as his top choice among players on that side of the ball. High, high praise for a guy who keeps living up to that recruiting billing — which is almost impossible to do. Expectations will certainly be high for him in what could be and probably is his final collegiate season.