While in college, Luther Burden earned a reputation as not the most outgoing person. He keeps to himself, showing an introverted personality. There isn’t anything wrong with that—plenty of professional athletes are the same way. However, don’t mistake the soft-spoken nature for Burden not being a competitor. He takes a lot of pride in his ability as a wide receiver, and that shows up on tape in every game he plays. Coaches and teammates insist he is much more driven than popular narratives would have you believe. The Chicago Bears took him for a reason.
A good example of that competitive nature popped up on Twitter (X) recently. NFL Rookie Watch put up a post detailing the rise of Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston, who went from relative unknown to 2nd round pick. It went so far as to say he locked up some of the SEC’s elite receivers, including Burden.
Let’s just say the Bears rookie didn’t take kindly to that assumption. He responded to the post with a singular line that immediately downplayed the idea that Hairston locked up anybody.
Luther Burden made a short but correct statement.
The game in question took place in 2023. Missouri went on the road to Kentucky. Luther Burden had gone for 149 yards the previous week against LSU. Rather than risk him doing the same in that game, the Wildcats deployed a zone strategy, forcing the Tigers to settle for shorter passes. As a result, Burden only caught two passes for 15 yards. It didn’t matter. Missouri used Burden as a decoy, opening up the ground game and scoring four offensive touchdowns, aided by two interceptions on defense. They won comfortably, 38-21. Hairston did have an interception, but he was rarely asked to man up on Burden.
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The fact Missouri scored that much without him tells you their strategy was probably a wise decision. None of it impacted his confidence. Burden scored a touchdown in each of the next three games. No wonder he feels the assumption that Hairston locked him up is ridiculous.
