He won't be a Burden in Cincinnati.
The 2024 season hasn't gone according to plan for the Cincinnati Bengals. In a year where the Bengals needed to take advantage of Joe Burrow still being on his rookie deal and still having Tee Higgins on the roster, the team has only been able to win four games entering Week 13.
The seven losses haven't been on the offense. This offense has been cooking for the majority of the season but the defensive side of the ball has struggled to stop the opposition making every game a shootout.
The only benefit that comes from having an underwhelming season is that it gives the Bengals a high draft pick and a chance to hit the reset button at certain positions. In Gordon McGuinness of PFF's latest mock draft, he has the Bengals replacing Higgins with their first-round pick and going with Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III.
"With Tee Higgins expected to depart this offseason, adding a new weapon for quarterback Joe Burrow is a logical route for the Bengals to explore in the first round of the 2025 draft. Burden has been impressive this season, averaging 2.41 yards per route run. He was even better in 2023, earning an elite 91.0 PFF receiving grade while averaging 3.29 yards per route run."
PFF has potential Tee Higgins in mind for Bengals in latest mock draft
It's not hard to see why Burden would make a lot of sense in Cincinnati catching passes from Burrow. In 2023, Burden tallied 86 receptions for 1,212 yards and nine trips into the end zone. This year, through 11 games, the Mizzou wideout has 60 catches for 665 yards and six touchdowns but it's worth noting that the Tigers starting quarterback has dealt with some injuries, which obviously affects Burden's numbers.
While adding firepower to an already explosive offense seems like a lot of fun, Bengals fans might prefer the team go with a defensive player in the first round, especially if the team is going to have a top 10 pick. The defense has been the problem this year and with Ja'Marr Chase still around for 2025 (and hopefully longer) and Andrei Iosivas putting together a nice campaign this year, wide receiver might not be the popular pick in the first round amongst the fan base.
Then again, Bengals fans weren't the most excited when the team went against the grain and nabbed Chase with the fifth overall pick in 2021 and look how that turned out. This team will definitely miss Higgins' production but if a guy like Burden replaced him, it'd be hard to see how the Bengals offense wouldn't be lethal yet again in 2025.