Luther Burden vs Emeka Egbuka

“08) – Luther Burden (WR, CHI) For the first and only time in this mock draft, Round 5 saw all three Ballers take a player at the same position.”

“Luther Burden III (WR – CHI) | ECR: WR24/ADP: 49 Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of optimism surrounding Luther Burden III and this entire Bears offense.”

“Like most fantasy football enthusiasts, count me among the stans. I am a fan of Burden’s game. I think he is great, but the LTV absolutely loves Burden.”

“Burden averaged 13.9 YPC, which is high when considering his low aDOT. That's attributable to the fact that Burden was a YAC machine in 2025, averaging 7.1 YAC per reception, which ranked 3rd in the NFL among WRs.”

“Burden finished 2025 with a paltry 12.8% target share on the season. This number obviously grew throughout the season, as his snap share increased, but that's still an uninspiring number. Better, though, were his Team Reception % (16%), Team Receiving Yards % (19%), and team WR Points % (26.9%), which shows how efficient Burden was when targeted.”

“From Weeks 10-18, Burden posted a WR5 overall finish with 2.67 YPRR. Burden was highly efficient on a per-route basis, and extrapolating that efficiency across a 17-game season in a full-time role would lock him into a top-12 finish at his position.”

“Rookie WR Luther Burden III started off slow but stepped up when it counted – in the playoffs. He was incredibly efficient with the ball, averaging 2.69 yards per route run, but he only earned a 13% target share on the season.”

“With D.J. Moore now in Buffalo, the table is set for Burden to take on a much larger role. If he builds on a rookie season in which he ranked third in yards per route run (2.79), Burden's value will shoot up higher than a reloadable mortar.”

“Burden lit up the 49ers in Week 17, racking up eight receptions for 138 yards and a touchdown. Those numbers made him the overall WR1 during fantasy championship week.”

“Luther Burden's numbers look incredible but he ran such a low percentage of the team's routes (RT %) that a 2026 leap needs to be contextualized with a new role in the Chicago offense.”

“Burden's Mid-Round 4 ADP is objectively one of the slappiest ADPs in the history of Best Ball. We're talking about a player with 652 career receiving yards being drafted ahead of the likes of Mike Evans and Davante Adams — not to mention two more established pass catchers on his own team. The conviction behind Burden despite stiff competition is driven by a strong college production profile and an elite year 1 YPRR in a part-time role.”

“He averaged fewer PPR fantasy points per game than Theo Wease Jr. last season (8.6 vs. 8.5). Burden scored 12.2 fantasy points on 14 targets during Chicago's two playoff games.”

“With Mike Evans gone, Egbuka is positioned for a much larger role in Zac Robinson’s offense. He is one of the more appealing second-year breakout WR candidates in fantasy football.”

“For WR2, the lines are Terry McLaurin and Emeka Egbuka.”

“Emeka Egbuka exploded onto the scene in the first half of the 2025 season. The rookie WR capitalized on the opportunity left by the injured Mike Evans and finished as the WR 20.”

“More importantly, he has been dominant on a very successful Ohio State offense while playing alongside two first-round picks, Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate .”

“With Evans now in San Francisco, Egbuka becomes the No. 1 receiver in Tampa Bay.”

“Emeka Egbuka could crush his mid WR2 draft cost this season. Egbuka faded after Week 5 last year after he sustained a hamstring injury, and Baker Mayfield ‘s injury severely impacted his ability to feed catchable targets to the receiving options in Tampa Bay. In Weeks 1-5, Egbuka was the WR3 in fantasy points per game, commanding a 22.1% target share with 89 receiving yards per game, 2.71 yards per route run, a 26.1% first-read share, and 0.104 first downs per route run (per Fantasy Points Data).”

“He started off extremely hot last season before fading down the stretch, but with Mike Evans gone, Egbuka is in line for huge volume and opportunity.”

“A Week 6 hamstring strain, coupled with Baker Mayfield's late-season struggles (including a reported rib injury), saw Egbuka's efficiency crater. However, Egbuka still led the Bucs' WR corps in total offensive snaps (886). Combine this with his 29.4% first-read target share, and it proves he is the offensive engine moving forward.”

“Through Week 5, Egbuka was a top-tier asset, averaging 2.49 Yards Per Route Run (YPRR) and leading all rookies in receiving EPA (11.2). He was the first player since 1970 to catch a game-winning TD in the final minute of his NFL debut.”

“New offensive coordinator Zak Robinson (ATL) has compared Egbuka to Cooper Kupp, whom Robinson coached during Kupp's historic 2021 season, when he won the receiving Triple Crown. Now he's the top option on his team and has a real chance to be a league-winner.”

“Emeka Egbuka is already a top-20 dynasty wide receiver, but I anticipate he'll make a jump in Year 2. Egbuka started his rookie season scorching hot, finishing as a top-12 fantasy receiver three times over the first five weeks. A hamstring strain in Week 6 threw cold water on his hot start, and Egbuka had only one top-12 finish as a receiver for the rest of the season.”

“Seeing 23% in the Buccaneers offense in 2025 netted Emeka Egbuka just 63 receptions (on 127 targets) while Kyle Pitts of the Falcons caught 25(!) more passes on only 116 targets and a 21.3% share.”