After going 12-5 and reaching the NFL playoffs over the previous three years, the Dallas Cowboys came into the 2024 season with high hopes.
Owner Jerry Jones assured that he was “all in” on his team but failed to make any significant upgrades to the roster. The Cowboys have paid the price and sit at 3-7 heading into Week 12 against the Washington Commanders. To make matters worse, quarterback Dak Prescott has been ruled out for the remainder of the year with a hamstring injury.
Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb has been one of the only playmakers for Dallas this season. Brandin Cooks, 31, who joined the team in 2023, has only played in four games this year and is likely on his way out with his contract expiring after the season.
As the standings sit on Saturday, Dallas owns the No. 9 pick in the 2025 NFL draft and has a lot of needs that could be filled with such a high selection. The 33rd Team’s Ian Valentino believes Jones and company should fill one of these voids by selecting Missouri Tigers wideout Luther Burden III.
“I could easily argue that Luther Burden III is the best overall receiver in this class,” Valentino wrote. “The speedster can win from outside or in the slot, is tough at the catch point and is equally as dangerous on screens as on deep routes. If that reminds you of Ja’Marr Chase, then you’d be correct.”
Burden, the junior out of St. Louis, Missouri, hasn’t had quite the impact for the 7-3 Tigers in the 2024 college football season as he did in 2023.
Last year, when Missouri finished with an 11-2 record and a 14-3 win over Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, Burden proved himself to be one of the top receivers in the nation.
Missouri Tigers wide receiver Luther Burden III.
© Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images
In his first-team All-SEC season, Burden finished with 86 catches for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns, all of which ranked top three in the conference.
Burden would give the Cowboys a similar skillset that Cooks gave them in 2023, adding speed that the Dallas team is in desperate need of.
