Eli Drinkwitz reveals latest on Luther Burden’s pending NFL Draft decision

Eli Drinkwitz and the Missouri Tigers recognize how special Luther Burden is to their program, and that the wide receiver could be NFL bound after this weekend’s clash against Arkansas.

Even though he’s a junior, Burden will walk during Saturday’s Senior Day celebration for the Tigers, as Drinkwitz wants to allow the wide receiver the honor of saying goodbye to the fans inside Memorial Stadium, just in case he decides to head to the 2025 NFL Draft.

However, Drinkwitz made sure to point out no decision has been made at the moment, and there’s always an outside chance the star wide receiver could return to Columbia.

“I have had conversations with Luther. We are in those conversations,” Drinkwitz said, regarding his star wide receiver, via his Arkansas preview press conference. “I’m never going to steal anybody’s thunder or spotlight. But I would just say that we’re very fortunate for Luther to have been here for three seasons.

“He will walk on Saturday. No decisions have been made, but that’s an opportunity for him to make a decision, without having — you know, thinking he didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to the fans. So, he’ll walk Saturday. Similar to when, I believe Nick Bolton walked, in 2020.”

Regardless, Burden has been a star since his arrival for Missouri. While this season has been a little uneven due to injuries on the offensive side of the football, Burden still amassed 665 receiving yards and six touchdowns in 2024 thus far.

Last season, Burden truly put himself on the map with a season where he accumulated 86 receptions for 1,212 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. He’s firmly in the conversation to end up in the top ten come time for the 2025 NFL Draft, although he’ll have to continue proving himself throughout the process.

Luther Burden will get his flowers this weekend, as it could be his final game inside Memorial Stadium. If that ends up being true, Eli Drinkwitz and the rest of Missouri’s faithful will be thankful for his three years with the Tigers, and wish him well in his future endeavors.