Missouri football has one of those good problems.

There’s a reason most prognosticators and tipsters have labeled Luther Burden III as a — if not the — top returning wide receiver in college football in 2024 and as a potential high-end, first-round NFL Draft pick in 2025. His 1,212 receiving yards and nine touchdowns from last season will earn that type of recognition.

Theo Wease Jr. would be the go-to pass-catcher on plenty rosters in the country. Wease’s 682-yard, six-touchdown debut year in Columbia, all while competing for touches with Burden, supports that.

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All told, the Tigers have every wide receiver who caught a pass in 2023 returning in 2024. All in all, 10 different Missouri players caught 248 passes for 3,410 yards last season. Removing tight ends and running backs, Mizzou receivers were responsible for 197 of those catches (79.4%) for 2,892 yards (84.8%).

Mizzou also has three more receivers now on board who didn’t catch a pass last season, but either are or were three- or four-star recruits.

So … how does Missouri keep ’em all content?

“Every year is a new year, right? You’ve got to reassess and see what your needs are,” Missouri wide receivers coach Jacob Peeler said March 12. “For us, we want to make sure — you don't want cookie-cutter copies, you don't want the same guy. … You’ve got to have different guys that do different things on different parts of the field.

“Having a yards-after-catch guy, or maybe it's a 50-50 catch guy, or a guy that's really good in the red zone, or a savvy slot that can get open. You’ve just got to have different pieces of the puzzle.”

Assuming Burden and Wease are near-mainstays in the lineup — the duo combined for more than half of the team’s total catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in 2023 — that leaves a narrow window of opportunity for the remainder of a nine-person group of receivers who could plausibly take the field.

The frontrunner to take the third-most reps is likely Mookie Cooper, who is entering his fourth season with Mizzou. Mekhi Miller, who scored Missouri’s first touchdown in what turned out to be an 11-2, Cotton Bowl-winning 2023 campaign, is likely to be a key backup, mainly to Burden in the slot.

But with options abound, offensive coordinator Kirby Moore is presented with an intriguing temptation.

Don’t discount the possibility for something a little bit flashy; a little bit different; a little bit adventurous.

When Moore met with the media before spring camp, the OC touted the idea of experimenting with different sets, including 10- and 20-personnel looks, because of the familiarity returning to the squad and the scheme.

That might open up new avenues in the air.

“We’ve got to continue to find ways to be explosive,” Moore said in late February. “That was something that I thought was a strength (last season).”

One name that comes to mind there is Marquis Johnson.

Think back to Memphis in Game 4 of last season, when Johnson took off on Missouri’s third snap for a 76-yard house call. Or at Kentucky, when Luke Bauer threw a fake punt 39 yards over the top of the ’Cats’ defense to Johnson for another touchdown.

Mizzou has plenty on the tried-and-tested front.

If the Tigers choose to shake up the lineup from time to time, they’ll have options, too.

In house: Josh Manning, a four-star recruit in the Class of 2023, was MU’s offensive MVP in the spring game in March but was primarily a special-teams member last season. Daniel Blood, a three-star recruit last year, played 10 games in 2023 most often as a special teams member, but he did catch two passes against LSU.

Incoming: Courtney Crutchfield, a four-star signee out of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, stands 6-2 and exhibits great hands on tape, making him a plausible instant-option on the outside. James Madison II, another four-star out of Florida, has a 6-8 wingspan that should intrigue Missouri’s coaches.

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There’s a world where the both make instant-impacts — a la Johnson in 2023 — in their respective rookie years. Moore, more than once, mentioned that he’d be exploring options and plays that fit each individual member in the room.

But, if the core hits its tipped heights, those calls might be sparing.

“A number of guys had a good amount of production last year, but last year's last year, we’ve got to move on from that,” Moore said. “And a huge piece is just competing and improving … with the guys in your room and really pushing their personal best.

“Everyone's personal best is a little bit different. Guys who've been here for three years, four years — their personal best should be a little bit higher than maybe someone who's been here two months.”

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: How will Missouri football utilize its deep wide receiver room in 2024?