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Should you draft Emeka Egbuka or Luther Burden III in 2025 dynasty fantasy football rookie drafts? Luke DeMarcus breaks down the profiles and landing spots for Egbuka and Burden.
While everyone focuses on the depth of running backs in this NFL Draft class, it's easy to wonder if there are any receivers this year who can live up to the standards that Brian Thomas Jr., Malik Nabers, Ladd McConkey, and rising star Marvin Harrison Jr. set from the 2024 draft class.
Although Tetairoa McMillan and Travis Hunter seemingly lead the 2025 WR class in hype and talent, are we sleeping on some diamonds in the rough with Emeka Egbuka and Luther Burden III?
Let's take a look at the fantasy outlooks in dynasty leagues for both.
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Emeka Egbuka's Draft Capital, Landing Spot, and Outlook
In case anyone hasn't noticed, Ohio State can't miss with its WR recruits. Since 2019, five out of 32 teams have recently been gifted with dominant WR1s: Terry McLaurin, Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Chris Olave, and Marvin Harrison Jr.
The wildest part is that when Emeka Egbuka was a freshman, all of these receivers outside of McLaurin were on the 2021 Buckeyes roster. Despite having competition all four years that he was at Ohio State, Egbuka's 4.45-second 40-yard dash and polished route running allowed him to break out in his sophomore season to be second on the team in receiving yards with 1,151, trailing only Harrison.
While his junior year would be a less impressive one due to a change at quarterback (C.J. Stroud to Kyle McCord) and some lingering injuries spawning in Week 6 of the season, he would round out his college career with yet another season over 1,000 yards receiving — although being alongside the prolific Jeremiah Smith in the passing game for the 2024 Ohio State Buckeyes national championship team. Safe to say Egbuka is used to competing for snaps at a high level.
"With the 19th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Emeka Egbuka," commissioner Roger Goodell said on April 24, the night of the draft.
Can you imagine how thrilled Baker Mayfield was to see his franchise draft yet another star wide receiver to aid its extraordinary success in the passing game? Egbuka would be profiled with comparisons to Chris Godwin or Robert Woods, who both have had explosive years within their NFL career.
With the polished route running and the former coming off a gruesome injury last year (dislocated ankle similar to Mark Andrews’ 2023 injury), Egbuka will quickly get a chance to develop valuable chemistry with Mayfield this offseason.
Egbuka will be able to learn from what is arguably a top-3 wide receiver room in the NFL with counterparts Mike Evans and his own NFL comp, Godwin.
Star: Bucs rookie WR Emeka Egbuka is a BEAST.
Baker and Emeka have phenomenal chemistry 👀 pic.twitter.com/VZy1EScmXo
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) June 12, 2025
Egbuka might not have the immediate breakout season we have seen from some of the 2024 draft class stars or even from some of his former teammates, but a sneaky "Jaxon Smith-Njigba" breakout is just a matter of time away.
By landing with one of the top passing offenses in the NFL and aging vets in Evans and Godwin, we could see Egbuka get crucial work in the slot early on in the season or even as the season progresses if Godwin's agility is hampered from last year’s injury.
Evans plays through so many injuries and has recorded over 1,000 yards receiving in every season he's played in the NFL, despite missing some games due to injury. With "Laser" Baker Mayfield and legendary WR vets surrounding him to learn from, would you want to pass him up as just the third or fourth WR off the board in your 2025 dynasty draft?
Luther Burden III's Draft Capital, Landing Spot, and Outlook
Missouri isn't quite as well-known for its prolific WR output as Ohio State is, but Luther Burden III is one of the most impressive players to watch from this class.
With NFL player comparisons of Golden Tate and Deebo Samuel Sr., Burden will jump out at you when seeing his YAC skills. While running a 4.41-second 40-yard dash, Burden led all NCAA receivers in broken tackles with 30 total in his 2023 campaign.
Fun to watch, and early declares typically correlate to more successful NFL careers, despite seeing a decrease in production from 86 catches for 1,212 receiving yards in his 2023 sophomore campaign to just 61 catches for 676 receiving yards in his final 2024 junior season before declaring.
Did Bears new head coach Ben Johnson (formerly Detroit Lions OC) select his "Sam LaPorta" in Colston Loveland at the 10th overall pick, then follow it up with selecting his "Amon-Ra St. Brown" with the next pick? While it seems like it, Burden will already join an offense with plenty of mouths to feed and a young quarterback who's still adapting to the NFL.
Teammate DJ Moore was also in earshot of a comparison for Burden, and it would be great to pick his mind -- but when Moore was asked about the rookies at a news conference, he seemingly forgot what Burden's name was.
This isn't a good sign from a guy you need to be taking lessons from immediately. More recently, Johnson voiced frustration with Burden for having a soft tissue injury and "losing valuable time" with the offense for missing the most recent OTAs.
While these things seem like red flags, Burden's high draft capital still ensures he can be an integral development in this offense alongside Moore, Rome Odunze, Loveland, and Cole Kmet.
Luther Burden III was the ONLY Wide Receiver to hit these marks:
➖30+ Missed Tackles Forced
➖Sub 5.0% Drop RateHis .49% Missed Tackles Forced Per Reception Rate Ranked 1st in the ENTIRE 2025 Class
➖4.41 40 Time (90th Percentile)
➖26.9% Target Share (80th Percentile)WR1 pic.twitter.com/dPwKOtDcwH
— Austin Abbott (@AustinAbbottFF) May 15, 2025
If and when Burden can start building rapport with Caleb Williams, there is a clear path for him to have a prolific career on the Bears' offense. Throwing behind a fully revamped offensive line should provide him more time to make decisions and allow routes to develop on all levels.
As Burden should be operating out of the slot, his biggest threat to a high snap count seems to be fellow draft pick Loveland due to the formation competition of 12 personnel and three-WR sets. This situation is much more difficult to predict, profiling Burden as a high-risk, high-reward selection around the early second round of dynasty rookie drafts.
Verdict
These two dynamic slot receivers are on teams with tons of depth in the receiving room. Both have paths to be elite on their offense within the next few years and potentially even league-winning assets for your roster. The real question is, are you looking for a "win-now" risky piece or a "guaranteed cornerstone" piece within the next couple of years?
As Johnson goes all-in this year on the Bears' offensive overhaul, I would look to draft Burden as the immediate impact player with higher volume. Yes, there is a developing quarterback. Yes, there are a lot of mouths to feed. Yes, Johnson likes to run the ball. However, if he did handpick his next "Amon-Ra St. Brown" in Burden and Odunze fails to take a second-year leap, you could have a brand-new receiver with a WR2 floor, given that he stays on the field with a high snap share.
Everyone needs a "guaranteed cornerstone" on their dynasty roster. Egbuka will have a chance to develop behind some of the greatest to have ever stepped onto the football field, and their time is soon coming to an end. Egbuka will have a chance to thrive in what is already a great Buccaneers foundational offense. Whether that is this year or not remains to be seen, but there is a higher chance we won't see his first breakout season until Year 2 or 3.
If you can't wait that long and Emeka Egbuka is still on the board, consider trading back if you're selecting in the late first round to take a shot at Luther Burden III (2.04 ADP) while adding another valuable asset in a package trade. The right team in your league will certainly pay up for Egbuka.
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