It's been a while! I meant to get this out not much longer after the rookie running backs and TEs posts in May, but the NBA offseason having action start sooner than ever threw me off before travel plans over the summer. Now the 2025 NFL season is here, so I'll will fire through this wide receiver class that's not as awesome as recent years but still has a lot to like.
As a reminder, a lot of what I base profiles on comes from JJ Zachariason's prospect guides over the years with certain statistical lenses to look through. I also tend to look at athleticism testing a little more than he does, but Ryan Heath's research at Fantasy Points indicates findings that it shouldn't be too much of a factor in success compared to other positions. Still, I'll be referencing physical traits (ideally from the NFL combine, with pro day results from Dane Brugler's The Beast); draft day age; breakout age; production profiles based on yards per route run (YPRR) via Pro Football Focus, yards per team pass attempt (Y/TPA), and market share rates; and then situation comes in at the end.
1. Tetairoa McMillan - 1st round, 8th overall, 2nd WR drafted - Panthers
There is a lot to like about McMillan's complete profile. He broke out as a true freshman (albeit as a 19 year old) largely based on accounting for 30.77% of Arizona's touchdowns. He really took off as a sophomore with an elite 3.02 yards per team pass attempt, a great 2.79 yards per route run, and strong market shares across the board with 27.11% of the team's catches, 34.98% of the yards, and 27.78% of the TDs. Finally, he maintained his production as a junior with a nearly identical 3.02 Y/TPA, 2.87 YPRR, and per game averages even as the team wasn't as good around him, resulting in improved rates of 32.06%, 44.34%, and 44.44%.
McMillan brings great size at 6'4.125" and 219 lbs, and although he didn't work out at the combine, he reportedly ran a more than adequate 4.53 40 yard dash at his pro day. That combination along with his track record of production means that he has all the traits to become an alpha receiver, and getting picked in the top-10 by a team who needs just that is enticing. Head coach Dave Canales has talked about running his passing attack through his top outside target and showed that through the beginning of last season with Diontae Johnson (before he apparently crashed out across multiple teams) and the prior year as offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay with Mike Evans. Adam Thielen getting traded last week opens up even more target opportunity, so McMillan should be the clear cut top rookie WR this season.
2. Travis Hunter - 1st round, 2nd overall, 1st WR* drafted - Jaguars (traded up)
The reigning Heisman Trophy winner is of course a fascinating case since he will be playing cornerback in addition to wide receiver, hence the asterisk above. The fact that Jacksonville gave up a king's ransom to move up to take him with the #2 pick gives a good idea of their big plans for him, so he could end up being the better long-term investment in dynasty over McMillan. We don't know just how many of the offensive snaps that Hunter will be playing compared just yet, and his statistical profile won't overwhelm you, which is understandable given how he pulled double duty.
Only a month younger than McMillan, Hunter broke out as a 20 year old sophomore upon transferring to Colorado after shocking the world by initially going to HBCU Jackson State as the #1 recruit in the nation. He only had 2.04 Y/TPA and 2.17 YPRR, however, with a 23.36% reception share, 26.06% yards share, and 21.74% touchdown share. Those improved across the board last season to 2.61, 2.51, 27.20%, 30.43%, and especially to 40.54%, but that still isn't necessarily elite anywhere.
The scouts rave about Hunter's traits, though, and Reception Perception guru Matt Harmon mentioned his fluid movements in the same breath as a young Odell Beckham Jr. They have similar size with Hunter 6'0.375" and 188 lbs to OBJ's 5'11.25" and 198, and perhaps with more focus on developing more as a receiver, the comparisons could continue. The Jaguars already have Brian Thomas Jr. as a #1 option for the foreseeable future after an outstanding rookie year, but there is a ton of opportunity for targets behind him with the departures of Christian Kirk, Gabe Davis, and Evan Engram. New head coach Liam Coen brings an exciting element to this offense now after he followed in Canales' footsteps as the Buccaneers OC for one year before a promotion, and Hunter could end up playing a large role in it.
3. Emeka Egbuka - 1st round, 19th overall, 3rd WR drafted - Buccaneers
Speaking of Tampa Bay again, Egbuka was a surprise 1st round pick there after they gave Chris Godwin a big new contract in free agency and with Jalen McMillan having a strong close to his rookie year next to the aforementioned Evans. Since then, though, Godwin's recovery has required a follow up procedure and McMillan suffered a bad neck sprain that might keep him out half the year. That really clears a path for Egbuka, who was never "the guy" at Ohio State with their run of WRs but has a pretty well-rounded profile.
Egbuka's best season was probably when he broke out as a 19 year old sophomore in CJ Stroud's last year in school. He averaged a great 2.81 Y/TPA and an elite 3.01 with his counting stats (74 catches for 1,151 yards and 10 scores) all just behind Marvin Harrison Jr. to give Egbuka a 27.01% reception share, 29.68% yards share, and 23.81% TD share, all solid. He was banged up a bit as a junior but bounced back as a senior with another strong YPRR season of 2.51 and an 81-1,011-10 line (improving his TD share to 27.03%) en route to a national championship for Ohio State. Finishing with a 2.61 career YPRR rate is pretty impressive and one of the best marks among this group.
Egbuka came in at a solid 6'0.875" and 202 lbs at the combine and then at his pro day had a 4.48 40 time, 38" vertical, and 4.12 short shuttle to show that he's a gifted athlete who is capable of playing on the outside. He's got a reputation as a slot receiver but was effective in both roles, and Zachariason actually had Godwin as a comparison even before they became teammates. He and Harmon also mentioned Robert Woods as the type of smooth, effective receiver that Egbuka could be, and now the rookie should be able to step right in as the #2 option behind Evans on a great offense.
4. Luther Burden - 2nd round, 39th overall, 6th WR drafted - Bears
I think Burden was one of the most underrated players in this class and arguably has as much upside as any of his WR peers. One of the top recruits coming out of high school, he stayed local at the university of Missouri and immediately contributed as an 18 year old freshman with his 6 TDs accounting for 42.86% of their receiving scores. His sophomore year might be the best season of any of these prospects: an elite 3.21 Y/TPA and 3.29 YPRR with excellent market shares of 34.68%, 35.54%, and 39.13%.
The problem is that the passing game really regressed Burden's junior year to see his counting stats fall off a cliff and his Y/TPA fall to 1.82. Still, a 2.32 YPRR that year isn't bad, and 6 TDs again resulted in a 50% TD share in the games he played (he opted out of the Music City Bowl). Then at the combine he ran a strong 4.41 40 at 6'0", 206 lbs.
I was thinking about DJ Moore as a comparison for Burden, so it was reassuring when Zachariason had the same comp and then funny that he landed in Chicago next to Moore. One of the knocks on Burden was that Missouri sometimes used him in a gadgety way out of the slot, but being a slot player on the Bears with Moore at flanker and last year's top-10 pick Rome Odunze at split end might be a good thing. New head coach Ben Johnson loves to funnel targets inside as evidenced by Amon-Ra St. Brown's rise to stardom under Johnson's passing game in Detroit and Jarvis Landry's strong run in Miami, where Johnson was an assistant and mainly worked with receivers. It was a little surprising when Chicago took another pass catcher so early (they might've been sniped by the Patriots with TreVeyon Henderson one pick before), but once Burden polishes his game a little, I could definitely see him having a big second half of the year like how St. Brown finished his rookie season on a tear.
5. Matthew Golden - 1st round, 23rd overall, 4th WR drafted - Packers
Golden was something of a late riser after he finished the season strong with Texas in their playoff run, but I have a bit of a hard time buying into his profile. He began at Houston, and you can say that he broke out as a 19 year old freshman if you're generous and round up with his market rates. Nothing else really stands out from his time with the Cougars other than a 35.29% share of their receiving scores in the games that he played as a sophomore, and then it was mostly the same story last year as a Longhorn. A 2.10 YPRR isn't bad, but the (career-high) 1.82 Y/TPA and market shares are nothing to write home about.
What really boosted Golden up is that he blazed a 4.29 40 yard dash at the combine, and he did it with some decent size (5'11", 191 lbs) compared to Xavier Worthy, another Texas WR, breaking the record last year with his 4.21 coming at only 165 lbs. Then Green Bay made him the only WR that they've picked in the 1st round in 23 years after infamously never taking one that high during Aaron Rodgers' entire tenure. With Christian Watson expected to miss most of if not the entire season after tearing an ACL at the end of last year and Jayden Reed dealing with a mysterious foot injury, that could mean only Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks as competition for snaps.
While both of those players have had occasional big games in the past, Golden has the opportunity to take over as the #1 target, and that combined with the draft capital pedigree is why he's rounding out my top-5. Perhaps the athletic gifts and better quarterback play will result in better production at this level better than in college. Another player with standout physical traits is Savion Williams, whom the Packers somewhat surprisingly took in the 3rd round, 87th overall, as the 13th WR off the board. He didn't break out until his fifth season as a 22 year old, and even then only a 2.10 YPRR and 24% TD share stand out. TCU using him on runs as a wildcat QB is actually the most interesting thing about his profile as he is dangerous with the ball in his hands at 6'3.875" and 222 lbs with 4.48 speed. I'm not sure how that will fully translate as an NFL WR, however, and I'm only mentioning him here since I brought up the available opportunity in Green Bay.
6. Jayden Higgins - 2nd round, 34th overall, 5th WR drafted - Texans
(and Jaylin Noel - 3rd round, 87th overall, 12th WR drafted - Texans)
I'm going to cheat a little by listing another pair of rookie teammates here, even if Higgins is the real pick for #6 on the list. These two were actually even teammates at Iowa State the last two years and each bring different strengths. Higgins first broke out as a 19 year old sophomore at Eastern Kentucky based mostly on scoring 30.30% of their receiving scores with 10, and then he took a good step forward with better teammates at Iowa State the following season with a good 2.58 Y/TPA, elite 3.00 YPRR, and solid market shares of 21.99%, 30.86%, and 26.09%. The YPRR dipped a smidge to 2.66 last year, but he otherwise improved to 2.71 Y/TP with a great 34.12% reception share, 35.74% yardage share, and 40.91% TD share.
At the combine, Higgins impressively ran a 4.47 40, put up a 39" vertical, and broad jumped 10'8" with a large 6'4.125", 214 lb frame. That led to Nico Collins being one of his comparisons in Zachariason's draft guide, and sure enough, he got drafted just outside of the 1st round by the Texans team employs Collins. Houston then turned around and scooped up Noel when he shockingly fell into the middle of the 3rd to really shore up their WR room.
Noel didn't have his breakthrough until his junior year, right as he turned 21, but it was a nice season with a 2.55 YPRR standing out the most. His 29.46%, 27.78%, and 31.82% market shares in games played were solid enough and pretty much held form last year at 28.88%, 33.35%, and 32.00%. He slightly improved that YPRR to 2.62 on top of having a 2.52 Y/TPA to round things out nicely, so that's what made his modest fall so surprising.
Noel has adequate size at 5'10.25" and 194" lbs and elite athleticism with a 4.39 40 time, 4.17 short shuttle, 6.82 3-cone, 41.5" vertical, and 11'2" broad jump, which usually has front office officials drooling instead of passing. Their loss was to Houston's gain as they needed to replace the departed Stefon Diggs and injured Tank Dell. Veteran Christian Kirk was brought in to support Collins, but there should still be plenty of targets for either or both of Higgins and Noel. The veteran seems to be preferred in two receiver sets so far, but I could see Higgins being on the outside with Collins and Kirk in the slot to start the season, with Noel eventually getting slot opportunities and Kirk rotating between spots. With Joe Mixon being out with a foot injury that seems worse than initially was let on, the Texans will likely have to lean on CJ Stroud and the passing game more than last year, so Higgins could be in store for a big rookie year, with Noel not far behind.
7. Tre Harris - 2nd round, 55th overall, 7th WR drafted - Chargers
It's easy to fall into the allure of Harris. In his first year at Ole Miss, he had an elite 3.17 YPRR with a strong 2.63 Y/TPA, and then he followed that up last season with an absurd 5.15 YPRR and 3.67 Y/TPA in games he played. On top of that are good market share numbers the last three seasons...but you have to consider that he played five years of college and didn't break out until his junior year as a 20 year old at Louisiana Tech before really taking off after transferring. It's worth remembering that Lane Kiffin's system has been known to put up insane efficiency numbers when looking at Harris' incredible 3.00 career YPRR mark.
Still, I'm willing to bet on Harris doing pretty well this year. At 6'2.375" and 205 lbs, he ran an acceptable 4.54 40 with good jumps of 38.5" and 10'5", which makes sense with his big play ability. Getting 2nd round draft capital from the Los Angeles is pretty enticing, and he should get his chances with Justin Herbert early on. Ladd McConkey should be the #1 target after his great rookie season and Keenan Allen will get his short looks now that he's re-signed, but they're both players that split time between the slot and flanker positions. Joshua Palmer left in free agency and Mike Williams retired after he initially re-signed, so Harris could step right into being that boundary receiver on the outside where he thrives.
Since the Chargers were yet another team who double dipped at WR, I'll also mention KeAndre Lambert-Smith, who was taken in the 5th round, 158th overall as the 22nd player at the position. With 4.37 speed at 6'0.75" and 190 lbs, he profiles more as a field stretcher that is more valuable in real life than in fantasy, and he's reportedly had a strong camp to get some playing time in that capacity. He did have some underrated production, namely a 2.70 YPRR and 2.66 Y/TPA, but it didn't come until he was a 5th-year grad transfer as a nearly 23 year old at Auburn after four nondescript years at Penn State.
8. Kyle Williams - 3rd round, 69th overall, 9th WR drafted - Patriots
Williams was one of my favorite sleepers of this class, so it was great to see him go a little higher than expected as a Day 2 pick. You could ding him for staying five years in college (typically great players enter the NFL early because they're that good), but he technically broke out all the way back in 2020 as a 17 year old freshman on a terrible UNLV team by accounting for 30.43% of their catches, 38.21% of their yards, and 33.33% of their TDs. He maintained good market share numbers throughout his career, and last year at Washington State had an outstanding 3.00 Y/TPA with 2.71 YPRR.
Williams is a little undersized as an X receiver at 5'10.625" and 190 lbs but had a 4.40 50 and 36.5" vertical, albeit with a barely acceptable 9'11" broad jump. With his route-running chops, I think there could be a little Diontae Johnson (5'10.5", 183 lbs, 4.53, 33.5", and 10'3") to his game, and both were picked on Day 2 in the 60's. New England hasn't been known as a place that develops young receivers well, but I do like the situation for him with Drake Maye looking like a potential star going into his second year. Stefon Diggs was signed to be the top target, but he turns 32 this season and is coming off a torn ACL while the best incumbent receiver, DeMario Douglas, is mostly limited to the slot. Williams could carve out a nice piece of this rising offense sooner rather than later.
9. Jack Bech - 2nd round, 58th overall, 8th WR drafted - Raiders
I'm honestly tempted to put teammate Dont'e Thornton (4th round, 108th overall, 16th WR drafted) here with Bech as the footnote, but I'll default to draft capital in this case. I wasn't the biggest fan of Bech's profile since he didn't breakout until he was a 22 year old senior, and even then his Y/TPA was only 2.28 after being below 1 the previous two years. The 2.44 YPRR, 27.13% yardage share, and 36% TD share are decent enough, though, and the film crowd was much higher on him than the data.
Not to be too stereotypical with a white receiver, but a lot of people profile Bech as a slot player at 6'1.25" and 214 lbs. Not running a 40 perhaps feeds into that, but he is a smooth athlete with a 4.21 short shuttle, 6.84 3-cone, 34.5" vertical, and 10'5" broad jump. Getting picked in the 2nd round is the biggest green flag here, and Las Vegas absolutely needs help at receiver next to Jakobi Meyers (and of course Brock Bowers at tight end). Meyers has the reputation of a slot receiver from his Patriots days, but with the Raiders he's actually played much more on the outside, per PFF, which could provide more opportunity for Bech in the slot.
The interesting thing is that it sounds like Bech might be limited to three receiver sets while Thornton will will be the starter. Standing 6'4.625" and 205 lbs with incredible 4.30 speed, he certainly looks the part of a big play receiver on the outside, and he had impressive YPRR numbers in all four of his college seasons. He ended up finishing with a pretty great 2.80 career mark in that area (compared to Bech's 1.85) after a career-high 3.72 last year. It just seems that at both Tennessee and Oregon before that he wasn't given the snaps of a full-time player, which really hurt his Y/TPA numbers. Even so, Thornton accounted for 22.99% of the yards and 28.57% of the TDs for the Vols as a senior and seems in line to get much more run as a pro than in college.
10. Elic Ayomanor - 4th round, 136th overall, 20th WR drafted - Titans (traded up)
I mentioned Noel's surprise fall earlier, but Ayomanor lasting so late was arguably the biggest shock of the draft. He broke out in a huge way as a redshirt freshman (at 20 years old) with 26.61% of Stanford's catches, 36.23% of the receiving yards, and 54.55% of the receiving scores, and he backed that up with similar rates of 28.13%, 36.21%, and 33.33% last season. The 2.38 and 2.25 Y/TPA won't blow you away, but 2.33 YPRR his first year and 2.12 for his career are nice marks to see.
Ayomanor is a pretty dynamic athlete at 6'1.75" and 206 lbs with a 4.44 40 time, 38.5" vertical, and 10'7" broad jump, and it shows up on film, particularly when he had a coming out party against Hunter and Colorado as shown below. The speculation is that he fell so late in to the 4th round due to medical concerns with knee injuries in his past, but Tennessee decided at a certain point that enough was enough and traded up to stop his fall, which is always an encouraging sign.
The funny thing is that once Day 3 of the draft started, it seemed like teams just sorted their draft boards by 40 times and kept picking speedsters to fill a role instead of the best receivers available...including the Titans when they reached for Chimere Dike with the first pick of the day, 103rd overall as the 15th WR. He had a couple of seasons with decent YPRR but only a 1.72 mark for his career, and his best Y/TPA was only 2.29. Dike is an outstanding athlete who produced a 4.34 40, 4.20 short shuttle, 6.82 3-cone, 38.5" vertical, and 10'8" broad jump at 6'0.625", 196 lbs, but I have little doubt that Ayomanor is the better football player.
Tennessee is also a pretty sweet landing spot since both can develop alongside #1 overall pick, Cam Ward, within a pretty open WR room. Calvin Ridley is the clear #1 guy, but the only other proven player is Tyler Lockett, who was cut by the Seahawks after a down year and is about to turn 33. Head coach Brian Callahan has already talked Ayomanor up and named him a starter, so I have absolutely no problem ranking him in the top-10 ahead of a lot of players who were drafted earlier.
11. Pat Bryant - 3rd round, 74th overall, 11th WR drafted - Broncos
I had a really hard time ranking #10-13 here and easily could've bumped Bryant up since there's a chance that he could be the #2 WR on his team like Ayomanor. I thought he was an underrated prospect coming out of Illinois, and then Denver surprisingly took him ahead of online expectations in the early 3rd round, followed by head coach Sean Payton throwing out a lofty comparison to his former star Michael Thomas after the draft.
Like Thomas (6'3", 212 lbs, 4.57 40, 35" vert, 10'6" broad jump) at Ohio State, Bryant (6'2.25", 204 lbs, 4.61, 37.5", 10'4") was a bit of a late bloomer in the Big Ten. After having a moderate breakout as a 20 year old junior, Bryant had impressive marks across the board as a senior with a 2.83 YPRR, 2.97 Y/TPA, 27.00% reception share, 38.26% yardage share, and 47.62% TD share. You can be a little skeptical that this all came so late, but he's still at least shown strong production to go with the Day 2 draft capital and exciting coach speak. The Broncos can get a little obnoxious with how they rotate receivers behind Courtland Sutton, though, so I'm trying not to get too far out over my skis. The surprisingly good Devaughn Vele trade helps, but there's still Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin to contend with.
12. Tory Horton - 5th round, 166th overall, 23rd WR drafted - Seahawks
Another player that I'm trying to reign in my excitement for is Horton, whom I've been a fan of in college for a while. Following a transfer to Colorado State as a junior, he broke out in a huge way despite spending a lot of the season as a 19 year old (compare that to some of the other breakout ages I've mentioned) with a monstrous 3.51 Y/TPA, a great 2.77 YPRR, and elite market shares of 34.98%, 47.90%, and 66.67%. After I thought that he would enter the draft after a senior season that wasn't quite as outrageous but still very strong, he stayed for a fifth year that unfortunately ended with a torn ACL in just the fifth game of the season.
Horton was putting up a 3.45 YPRR rate before the injury, too, which brought his career mark to 2.46, one of the best in the class, albeit without the strongest of competition. Perhaps coming from a non-Power 5 conference, being a five-year player (though still just 22), and the injury is what caused the fall to the 5th round, but he showed that he's healthy at the combine by blazing a 4.41 40 and leaping 37.5" at 6'2.5", 196 lbs despite coming off of the torn ACL.
Horton then impressed in training camp so much that Seattle ended up cutting free agent signing Marquez Valdes-Scantling despite the success he had with new OC Klint Kubiak in New Orleans together last year. The smooth rookie is currently stuck as the #3 receiver behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp, but the latter being cut by a Rams franchise that absolutely adores him could be an indicator of how little he has left. If the 32 year old really falls off or unfortunately suffers another injury, Horton could really take off.
13. Isaac TeSlaa - 3rd round, 70th overall, 10th WR drafted - Lions (traded up)
Detroit giving up two future 3rd rounders just to move up from the end of the 3rd to the early part and take TeSlaa was shocking giving his pedigree. He was presumed to be an intriguing sleeper on Day 3 before that ambitious move because he started his college career at little Hillsdale college that can't even provide YPRR data for PFF since they're Division II. I had to go to their school site for stats since they're also not on Sports Reference and at least found that TeSlaa absolutely dominated with 5.24 Y/TPA and 43.04%, 60.36%, and 72.22% market shares as a redshirt sophomore after a strong first full season (he only 3 games in the COVID-shortened 2020 season).
That led to a transfer to Arkansas for his final two college seasons, but TeSlaa didn't do too much from either an efficiency or counting stats perspective. He did earn an invite to the Senior Bowl, though, and was able to impress scouts there before blowing everyone away at the combine. Measuring 6'3.625" and 214 lbs, he had a 4.43 40, 4.05 short shuttle, 6.85 3-cone, 39.5" vertical, and 10'9" broad jump, all of which are elite numbers already but especially at his size. The Lions trading away Tim Patrick before final cuts seemingly indicates that they trust TeSlaa to be the #3 receiver in their high-powered offense, which has fantasy managers gushing about him. I'm keeping more of a tempered expectation, but he's definitely one to watch early on.
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