Burden of Proof: Evaluating a new Dolphins Mock Draft

Debating the merits of the Miami Dolphins taking a wide receiver in the first round of the 2025 draft ... and, if so, which one would make the most sense?

Missouri Tigers wide receiver Luther Burden III (3) catches a pass for a two-point conversion against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the second half at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium last season. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

CBS Sports dropped a new 2025 NFL Mock Draft on Monday, and it had the Miami Dolphins making an interesting selection in the first round.

Draft analysts Mike Renner and Ryan Wilson mocked Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden to the Dolphins with the 13th overall pick. Renner and Wilson noted how well Burden produces after the catch:

“Luther Burden III has a thick lower body that allows him to run through arm tackles in the open field. He is able to accelerate upfield quickly and has good body control to contort himself downfield.”

While we know the Dolphins like receivers who can produce after the catch, this pick would be controversial, to say the least. We decided to evaluate why Burden makes sense for the Dolphins on paper but not in practice and provide some better receiver options in Round 1.

Why Burden Would Be a Strange Pick

Burden is a good prospect in a vacuum. He’s fast, tough, productive, and the class’ best receiver with the ball in his hands after the catch. There’s no doubt that he fits the mold of a receiver the Dolphins would be interested in under head coach Mike McDaniel.

However, the Dolphins roster is already littered with players like Burden. The Missouri product is listed at 5-11, 208 pounds, and Missouri might be giving him an inch or two.

If a fast but small receiver sounds like a familiar prototype to you, it’s because that’s what Miami’s entire receiver depth chart looked like last season. The Dolphins top three receivers in targets last season were Tyreek Hill (5-10), Jaylen Waddle (5-10), and Malik Washington (5-8).

Even Jonnu Smith, who is listed at 6-3 and finished first on the team in receptions, is undersized for a tight end.

That lack of size came back to bite the Dolphins throughout last season. When defenses got into the face of receivers and forced them to be physical, Miami’s smaller players couldn’t hold up.

Renner and Wilson’s mock draft even notes that Burden doesn’t have much experience winning against press coverage since he mostly played in the slot at Missouri (621 snaps across three seasons).

While Burden’s size limits his ability to win against press coverage and make contested catches (two things Miami desperately needs), the more significant issue is his blocking. One of the primary reasons Miami’s outside zone rushing attack struggled last season was because of poor perimeter blocking.

Receivers like Hill, Washington and River Cracraft were asked to provide the key blocks on outside runs last season and struggled. All of Miami’s tight ends share some of the blame for those struggles, too, but the solution is adding a slot receiver who can block — not another small, speed receiver with a raw route tree.

Burden’s raw route running poses another issue for the Dolphins. At Missouri, Burden got a lot of production on manufactured touches (screens, jet passes, reverses). For the Dolphins, Burden would compete with players like Waddle, Hill, Smith, and De’Von Achane for those touches.

Outside of returning punts, that also accounted for a lot of Washington’s role in the offense last season. Burden would be a better option than Washington and possibly Smith, but he would likely fall behind the other three in the offense’s pecking order.

If the Dolphins were to take Burden 13th overall, as CBS suggested, it would solve zero problems on the offense.

Yes, it would give the Dolphins another explosive weapon and hedge against a potential Hill departure, but for a team lacking starters at positions like interior defensive line, linebacker, safety, and guard, taking a receiver with a redundant skill set at 13 is a luxury pick it can’t afford.

Better Receiver Options at 13 Overall

Although we’d argue finding size and blocking at the receiver position should be done in free agency or later in the draft, let’s assume the Dolphins are considering a receiver in the first round.

If that’s the case, there are two wide receivers who would add a lot more to the offense than Burden. The first is usually off the board when Miami picks at 13 overall, Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan.

McMillan went seventh overall in Renner and Wilson’s mock, but some national outlets have pushed McMillan down the board. For the Dolphins, the 6-foot-5, 212-pound receiver would finally give the team a receiver it could count on to win contested catches.

According to PFF, McMillan had 18 contested catches last season, which was tied for seventh-most in the entire country. His 60 percent conversion rate on contested catches also ranked in the upper percentile of all college receivers.

Pairing him with Hill and Waddle would give the Dolphins a real changeup to throw at opposing defenses, something the team has severely lacked for the better part of three years.

Since McMillan is usually off the board when Miami picks at 13th overall, Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka could make a lot of sense. Egbuka should be on the board when the Dolphins pick and would provide a much more well-rounded slot receiver skill set than someone like Burden.

Egbuka is arguably the draft class’ most experienced and savvy route runner. He can win at all three levels of the field, playing mostly in the slot (343 snaps this past season). The Ohio State product is also bigger than Burden, checking in at 6-1, 205 pounds. 

Although that wouldn’t qualify him as a “big” receiver, Egbuka played much stronger than his frame suggests. He finished with a 59 percent contested catch rate, hauling in 13 contested catches (31st in the country). For reference, Burden had only six contested catches this past season.

His work in the running game makes Egbuka extra appealing to the Dolphins. Miami loves to run a play called “crack toss,” where a receiver comes downhill toward the line of scrimmage to block a defensive end or linebacker while the running back bounces to the outside.

It allows an offensive tackle to pull into space and block a much smaller player. It’s a staple of McDaniel’s offense, and it’s something Egbuka executed well at Ohio State. His toughness and technique as a run blocker would translate well to Miami’s offense, even if he’s the third target behind Hill and Waddle.

There’s a good chance Burden is selected before Egbuka on draft night, which would make sense for most teams but not the Dolphins.

Overall, Miami shouldn’t spend too much time considering a receiver in the first round. The strength of this year’s receiver class is its depth, and any player the Dolphins select will be fighting for targets with far more established talents.