The Detroit Lions had a great regular season but sadly saw everything come to an end abruptly in their first game in the playoffs.

Their shocking loss to the Washington Commanders after earning the first-round bye was truly devasting. Now they are back to the drawing board, and with the first round of free agency in the rearview mirror, all eyes now go to the 2025 NFL Draft. A new A to Z Sports mock draft has the Lions adding another explosive weapon to their offense.

The Lions already have an exciting wide receiver duo in Amon St-Brown and Jameson Williams, but they still need to find that last piece to finish the room. That player ends up being Missouri’s Luther Burden in this mock draft. At one point, Burden was viewed as the top WR in the 2025 NFL Draft class but had some production regression in 2024. In 2023, Burden recorded an impressive 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns with 86 catches. All three of those marks ended up being his career highs for his three-year collegiate career. In 2024, he was only able to record 676 yards, six touchdowns, and 61 catches.

While I think Burden has a lot of talent, I do have some questions about his fit with the Lions. I think his skill set is too similar to what the Lions already have with St-Brown and Williams. To complement those players, I think the Lions need to add a bigger weapon that can excel in 50-50 ball situations. Out of the first-round WRs, the best fit for that role would probably be Arizona’s Tetatoria McMillan. The Lions would probably have to trade up for him, but they’ve shown in the past if they like someone enough, they are more than willing to do it.