Luther Burden vs Tyler Warren

“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.”

“Tyler Warren ’s rookie season and Alec Pierce ’s contract are reasons to believe that the Colts’ offense can continue to get better around Taylor, making his job much easier.”

“This is simply a, “the drop-off from Tyler Warren to Tucker Kraft isn’t going to be as big as you think (and I have Kraft higher, for what it’s worth), and that makes Warren a bad value” sentiment.”

“The Colts passing game operated by committee throughout the year, with each of Alec Pierce, Tyler Warren, Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs filling a specific role within the offense.”

“He continued building around a young receiver corps, adding Emeka Egbuka and later Jameson Williams , and locked down his tight end room early with Tyler Warren , calling him a long-term dynasty asset worth building around even with quarterback uncertainty in Indianapolis.”

“Tyler Warren picked up a small bump but stayed in place at fourth, standing fairly alone in that spot: not close enough to catch third, but comfortably ahead of Tucker Kraft , who settled in as the TE5.”

“Tyler Warren should continue to ascend.”

“While Daniel Jones appears healthy heading into 2026, I expect to see more of Warren taking snaps at quarterback, as he did at Penn State. Warren offers unique upside that has received little discussion this offseason.”

“The Colts offense took a big step forward in 2025, and they will need to rely even more on Tyler Warren to keep that momentum going. Warren had an outstanding rookie year after leading the Colts in targets last season. The departure of Michael Pittman (PIT) will lead to even more looks for Warren's second season.”

“Warren had a strong rookie season, catching 76 of 112 targets for 817 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also added a rushing touchdown. Warren played 84% of the snaps as a rookie, running a route on 83.6% of the team's dropbacks.”

“Tyler Warren has a clear chance to finish as the overall TE1 in 2026. He's the returning member of Indy's receiving corps most likely to handle those middle-of-the-field opportunities that previously belonged to Michael Pittman. Warren saw the second-most targets inside the 10-yard line among all tight ends last season (11), yet he finished with only four spikes.”

“Among the second-tier tight ends, Tyler Warren generated some of the strongest endorsements. He was named a must-draft target thanks to expectations for increased volume and a larger offensive role. The belief is that Warren still has room to grow and could push toward the elite tier if his opportunity expands.”

“I'm not confident enough that Loveland will emerge as the former to draft him multiple rounds ahead of other upside young tight ends like the aforementioned Warren, Harold Fannin Jr. or Tucker Kraft.”