The Houston Texans experienced their fair share of ups and downs throughout the 2024 season. Despite this, they finished the season as AFC South champions with a 10-7 record and picked up a dominant playoff win over the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wildcard Round.
They now head into the offseason with some big decisions to make. One of them is whether or not they will bring back wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who is set to become a free agent this offseason. A new A to Z Sports 2025 NFL mock draft has them drafting his replacement, which points towards letting the veteran wide receiver walk in free agency.
Texans replace Stefon Diggs with Missouri star WR Luther Burden III in a new 2025 NFL Mock Draft
"Luther Burden finally gets drafted here as the Houston Texans try and land some dynamic play opposite Nico Collins. Tank Dell is fine as a slot, but gifting C.J. Stroud with another special playmaker who can fill the Z or slot roles staying on the field 100% of the time would be a game-changer for the Texans. Burden's final season production fell off due to poor QB play, but this former five star is still the special talent he proved to be for the first two years of his college career."
- New A to Z Sports Mock Draft
Missouri's Luther Burden III is one of the best WRs in this year's NFL Draft class. At one point, he was trending toward being the consensus number-one WR, but his numbers dipped a bit in 2024 due to regression across the Missouri offense. The talent is still very much there when you throw on his 2024 film.
He should have a lot of fans throughout the NFL during the draft process. One of which should undoubtedly be the Texans, especially if Diggs signs elsewhere when free agency opens up in March. The Texans might have to wait a while to see Tank Dell return to the field and even longer to see him potentially return to his old self after a devasting leg injury in 2024. So finding another weapon for CJ Stroud and a partner in crime for Nico Collins should be one of, if not the top priority for the team this offseason. Burden's skill set seems like a great complement to Collins and would give the team a day-one starter with upside to be an immediate contributor at the pro level.
