Luther Burden vs Zay Flowers

“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.”

“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.”

“Isaiah Likely is gone, and I don’t think Ja’Kobi Lane or Elijah Sarratt provide the level of incentive to keep me off of drafting the guy who has been the other boundary target next to Zay Flowers for years now.”

“The Fantasy Hitman grabbed his beloved Zay Flowers to be his WR2.”

“The Ballers really like Zay Flowers , who will serve as the primary pre-snap chess piece operating from the Z-receiver spot. This alignment keeps him off the line of scrimmage to dodge press coverage while creating misdirection.”

“The Declan Doyle addition makes me more bullish on Flowers, who was the entire Ravens’ passing game last season.”

“Yet, Zay Flowers’ role as the clear-cut No. 1 option in the passing game remains unchallenged.”

“Zay Flowers (WR – BAL) My rank – WR19, 45th overall ADP – WR22, 60th overall The Zay Flowers propaganda is making its way around the Redraft streets, but it doesn’t appear the dynasty community is quite as bullish. Well, I’m buying the hype on Flowers.”

“Flowers is just as electric as she was billed coming out of college. He's been Lamar Jackson's No. 1 receiver since the day he was drafted, and at times he's been Jackson's only noteworthy receiver.”

“With DeAndre Hopkins and Isaiah Likely gone, the passing volume may be further consolidated in Flowers' favor. Valued as the WR18 in ECR, Flowers should be in line to smash his ADP if he can simply post a league-average touchdown rate.”

“Flowers finished as the WR4 overall in route participation in 2025, rocking an impressive 29% target share. In terms of efficiency, Flowers finished 12th or better at the position in yards per route run (YPRR), yards per target and yards per team pass attempt last year.”

“Yet, Flowers' role as the clear-cut No. 1 option in the passing game remains unchallenged. Last year, the former Boston College star averaged 14.3 PPR fantasy points per game, a career high. However, he was even better when Lamar Jackson played, averaging 15 fantasy points per game on only 6.9 targets per contest.”

“If you rostered Zay Flowers last season, you know that his WR7 finish in 2025 deserves an asterisk. Hopefully, no one was playing fantasy football in Week 18 (if so, put a rule change up to vote), but that's when Flowers padded his stats with 2 TDs and 138 yards receiving. Half of the time he was "MEH" (between 8 and 12.5 fpts). Zay Flowers finished as a Top-24 WR in just 35% of his games in 2025.”

“Zay Flowers has been a poor man's version of Amon-Ra St. Brown, turning in consistently strong reception and yardage totals. He hasn't scored many touchdowns, but it's possible Flowers gets more red-zone looks under the new Ravens offensive coordinator, Declan Doyle.”