While the 2025 NFL Draft class doesn’t quite feature the elite talent at receiver like it did last year, there are still some high-end talents, and Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan leads the way. He is a freakish athlete at 6’5, 212 pounds, and he knows how to use his athleticism to his advantage. He is the top wide receiver in this class for a majority of people in the draft community and it is easy to understand why.
Tetairoa McMillan is one of the more unique receiving prospects in recent memory due to his blend of size and speed. When people see the measurements of 6’5, 212 pounds, they are quick to compare him to Mike Evans, but the two play completely different styles of football. He does use his frame to his advantage on jump balls as he turns a 50/50 ball into an 80/20 ball, and he does use his size to go up and grab the ball in places no one else can, just like Evans, but that is really the only similarity.
At the moment, arguably the biggest strength in McMillan’s game is his ability to make plays after the catch. He is great at making contested catches and beating the defense for long gains, but he has a chance to be a special player because of his YAC ability. He is constantly gaining extra yards after the catch, and he is a threat to take it the distance as well.
Just last year, 430 of his 1,319 yards came after the catch. 1,162 yards of his 3,423 career yards at Arizona have come after the catch. His running style allows him to simply run away from defenders and make moves in the open field. He is very long and lanky and he runs with very long strides. He doesn’t run through tackles, but he runs away from them and makes defenders miss.
A lot of his routes at Arizona this past year were designed to get him the ball in space. He ran a lot of slants, crossers, and drag routes, as well as go-balls. His athleticism is his best trait at the moment and Arizona allowed him to use that as often as possible, as opposed to making him run refined routes all over the field.
McMillan also showed his ability to come back to the ball to help out his QB. In the NFL, defensive backs are going to jump on the ball any chance they get, so receivers have to come back for the ball and be strong at the catch point. He displayed great hands when coming back to make a play on the ball as he would catch the ball and hold it out in front of him where defenders couldn’t get to it.
Along with the YAC ability, McMillan is a great jump ball receiver. He knows how to highpoint the ball and put it where no defender can get it. He has extremely strong hands at the catch point, and he is a good tracker on downfield shots. His quick release off the line of scrimmage can sometimes create issues against tighter coverage as he just runs when the ball is snapped, but when given a clear takeoff, his deep speed allows him to win downfield. He has been able to consistently win deep without being extremely physical with defenders.
The other strength that Tetairoa McMillan showed this year was his ability to read zone coverage. Often times he would sit himself down in the middle of the zone and create an easy target for his QB. A lot of players will keep running when they should sit in the zone or vice versa, but T Mac was always able to find the soft spot in the zone. Zone coverage has become the go-to for NFL defense more than man-to-man as of late and that should bode well for McMillan as he isn’t a refined route runner who can consistently beat his man off the line of scrimmage.
When diving into the tape of McMillan, a lot more strengths jumped out than weaknesses. His raw athleticism jumps out instantly as he makes everything look incredibly easy. NFL teams will fall in love with his downfield ability as well as his creation after the catch.
Two major weaknesses/flaws jumped out when watching McMillan. It was hinted at earlier, but at the moment his route tree appears to be very limited and he is not a refined route runner who has an easy time separating. The two go hand in hand as he would have a larger route tree if he was a more polished route runner. It felt like 80% of his routes were either go-balls, comebacks, curls, screens, slants, crossers, or drags. That sounds like a lot but none of them require a lot of true separation.
Drags and crossers are easy ways to get the ball in the hands of a playmaker as the receiver is just running in a straight line across the field. Slants are very similar as well, but the receiver needs to have a quick release. Comebacks and curls require a bit more as the receiver has to sell a deep ball, but they are running straight and then turning around. Screens are the easiest way to get a receiver the ball as they just turn around and wait.
Go-balls are the ones that require the most separation, but given McMillan’s size and athleticism, he can win on a go-ball without much separation. To put in perspective, none of his main routes required the ability to create a lot of separation through route running, he was able to win mainly off of athleticism.
Struggling to separate is not something NFL teams like, but it is much easier to teach players how to run a route and separate than it is to teach elite size and athleticism, and that’s because it can’t be taught. The same thing goes for the limited route tree. As he grows as a route runner and separator, teams will open things up for him even more.
The other notable weakness in McMillan’s game is his reliance on his athleticism and height. He should absolutely use his gifts to his advantage, but it feels like sometimes that is all he relies on. On go-balls, he will just take off and run deep on the snap instead of setting up a defender to create more space for himself. It is fine because he is able to win using solely his athleticism at times, but it would be nice if he didn’t always have to rely on it to win.
All of his weaknesses go together as he can be coached up in those areas to become an even better player, and if he pairs his athletic ability with a refined route tree, he could become a true problem in the NFL. This isn’t the first time a player like McMillan relied heavily on his gifts instead of pure skill and there is nothing wrong with that.
Names such as Mike Evans, Courtland Sutton, and Nico Collins have been used as comparisons to McMillan, but the player who he resembles the most is Drake London.
London is 6’4, 215 pounds, just 1 inch shorter and 3 pounds heavier than McMillan. The Falcons star was viewed as a big-time deep threat and jump ball receiver coming out of USC in 2022. After two solid seasons to begin his career, he really flourished this year with 100 catches for 1,271 yards and 9 touchdowns, all of which were career highs.
McMillan resembles London with his ability to win downfield, but also his movement style. London is not dynamic after the catch in terms of running away from the defense, but there were countless moments where he would make a defender or two miss after the catch and pick up some extra yards. That was an element of his game that wasn’t very present over his first two seasons, but it popped last year.
London has shown he can be a physical receiver, but also a finesse receiver as well, and McMillan shows both of those elements as well. They are both fluid runners with the ball in their hands, and they both utilize their size and athleticism to their advantage downfield.
Tetairoa McMillan is a gifted athlete who uses his athleticism to win in college. He is great after the catch as he picks up speed with his long strides and makes defenders miss. He needs to develop as a route runner and separator at the next level to really become an elite receiver. McMillan profiles as an elite deep threat and red zone threat from day one. He should flourish in the NFL as he dominated college despite not having much help around him. Whichever team drafts McMillan will be getting a future star.
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