Luther Burden vs Joe Burrow

“Dealing with a groin injury but expected to be ready for week one, Burden profiles as one of the quickest players in the league and a real matchup nightmare, especially from the slot, where he takes most of his snaps.”

“With Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III apparently looking like prime Tony Gonzalez and Randy Moss, Swift has gone under the radar.”

“Luther Burden exemplified this in 2025; he finished the season strong, and now we love him. Only one problem: Burden was a horrible guillotine draft choice. It wasn’t until Week 13 that he saw more than five targets in a game.”

“The hype around Burden has gotten out of control. He averaged fewer PPR fantasy points per game than Theo Wease Jr. last season (8.6 vs. 8.5).”

“He was also 5th in target share (28%), 11th in air yards share (35%), and 4th in yards per route run behind Puka Nacua , Jaxon Smith-Njigba , and Luther Burden III .”

“Ever since DJ Moore was traded to Buffalo, Burden’s ADP shot up like a cannon. He’s still ranked above proven veterans like Moore, Christian Watson , and Mike Evans . From Week 13 on last season, among receivers with at least 100 routes run, Burden ranked third in yards per route run, fifth in targets per route run, and fourth in first downs per route run, according to the Fantasy Points Data Suite.”

“This is a reference to a song by The Rolling Stones. It also highlights how Luther Burden III is going to be an absolute beast this season. Don’t be afraid, buy into the hype. He’s a stud in a great situation.”

“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.”

“For Pollard to find his way into the top-12, we need a Drake Maye / Joe Burrow -esque second season from Ward.”

“Joe Burrow paired with Ja’Marr Chase is obviously a nightmare matchup to go head-to-head against, but the variance the pair would inject into your lineup is prohibitively high in this format. An explosive game from them will only truly save your season when the rest of your team lays some eggs.”

“But if Bengals QB Joe Burrow, who missed nine games last season, enjoys a season of good health, McPherson should have his fair share of FG and PAT opportunities.”

“The trio of Joe Burrow , Ja'Marr Chase , and Tee Higgins forces defenses to respect the passing game.”

“When Joe Burrow was healthy, he was a top-three quarterback last season”

“Joe Burrow (QB – CIN) According to Sharp Football Analysis , the Bengals have the second-easiest schedule this season, which bodes well for a passing attack featuring Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins”

“For example, fantasy players would need to use four of their first five or six picks to build a Cincinnati Bengals stack of Ja’Marr Chase , Chase Brown , Tee Higgins , and Joe Burrow”

“Lamar Jackson , Jayden Daniels , Joe Burrow , Baker Mayfield , and Kyler Murray all were selected as top-12 players at the position and finished double-digit slots behind expectations in terms of points per game.”

“Round 1: Joe Burrow (QB – CIN) To kick things off at No. 4 overall, I went with Joe Burrow .”

“Even with a modest target share, Higgins maximizes his opportunities in one of the NFL’s premier passing offenses led by Joe Burrow .”

“The pivot to more under-center passing won’t be as natural and certainly might not be anywhere near as successful for the Bengals, because Burrow clearly isn’t as comfortable and doesn’t perform as well. In fact, if we go back the last three years, Burrow’s under-center dropbacks average just 3.6 air yards, which ranked dead last: #69 out of 69 qualifying QBs. His time to throw of 2.81 seconds was the #5 fastest out of 69 QBs, and he threw just 17% of passes 10+ yards downfield, also ranking dead last.”

“Zac Taylor wants the Bengals to play more from under center in 2026. Unfortunately, Joe Burrow under center is precisely where this offense struggles most, which is why the Bengals haven't used it often of late. How much the Bengals choose to pivot to under-center passing and how much Burrow can improve on these dropbacks might have a large impact on their fortunes in 2026.”