Cowboys make an unexpected pick in latest mock draft

Burden caught 192 passes for 2,263 yards and 21 touchdowns in three years as a Tiger but had just 676 yards and six scores last season. His best year came in 2023 when the Missouri native had nine touchdowns with 86 receptions for 1,212 yards, ninth-most in the FBS.

Still, Kiper believes Burden’s after-the-catch ability would be an asset to quarterback Dak Prescott and create more opportunities for No. 1 receiver CeeDee Lamb. As Kiper notes, the Cowboys haven’t had a pair of wide receivers with more than 700 yards since 2021 when Amari Cooper was with the team.

It’s not like they haven’t tried. In 2023, Dallas traded fifth and sixth-round picks to Houston for Brandin Cooks who had 657 yards and eight touchdowns that year, including three in the team’s final three regular season games.

But 2024 was a different story as Cooks missed seven games with a knee injury that became infected during a procedure to fix his meniscus. Now that he’s a free agent, the Cowboys need to add another wide receiver, but what does Burden bring to the table?

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, all of ESPN's draft analysts have Burden ranked among the top three wide receivers in this year’s draft including Matt Miller who has him ranked ahead of Colorado’s Travis Hunter and Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan.

Overall, Kiper ranks Burden as the draft’s 19th-best prospect while Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz has compared him to San Francisco’s Deebo Samuel. That’s high praise but certainly shows why Dallas would have interest in the 208-pound, tackle-breaking slot receiver.

As tempting as a player like Jeanty may be, Kiper believes the Cowboys will use free agency to fill the void at running back and if Burden tests well at the scouting combine, the team will be hard-pressed to pass him up.