Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan is projected to be one of the top wide receivers selected in the 2025 NFL Draft later this month.
The 6-foot-4, 219-pound McMillan ran 40-yard dashes at his pro day that hovered around the 4.5s, and there aren’t many receivers at that size that can move like that. McMillan is the No. 7 overall pick in Yahoo Sports’ latest NFL mock draft by experts Nate Tice and Charles McDonald, and both have him highly ranked on their big boards.
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There is one issue, however, with McMillan’s game that’s seemed to pop up during the evaluation process: his lack of separation.
Tice and Yahoo Sports Fantasy Analyst Matt Harmon weren’t buying it, as they discussed on the latest episode of Football 301.
“This guy is not some lack-of-separation, stiff player,” Harmon said. “… If a guy can’t separate on tape, nobody’s talking about him as a Round 1 player, or a top half of Round 1 player.”
Tetairoa McMillan compares favorably to last year’s monster WR class
Harmon pointed out recent big-bodied receivers who supposedly couldn’t separate, including Drake London and Rome Odunze, and it didn’t hinder them in their transition to the NFL.
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Speaking of Odunze, not only does Tice agree that McMillan’s separation is fine, he thinks it’s part of a package that has him grade out close to 2024’s dominant wide receiver prospect class that included Odunze, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers.
“I consider him closer to those top three guys from last year than maybe what we’re talking about this year,” Tice said, “because I see him as an X, I see him as a ball winner, but I see him as fluid. And how he gets in and out of routes is really just really cool to watch. And you don’t really see that from a guy that’s legitimately 6-4.”
McMillan’s speed is fine, even if it’s not built for go routes
Harmon said McMillan’s long speed isn’t the strength of his game, and it’s true he won’t threaten separation on go routes straight downfield.
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McMillan particularly shines on comeback routes, where Harmon charted him as having an 88.9% success rate in terms of getting open.
“He can and has created chunk plays in the intermediate area, and in deep in-breakers, things like that,” Harmon said.
Tice doesn’t have concerns over McMillan’s speed, either, due to his body control and agility allowing him to get yards after catch. He also thinks McMillan’s 40 time isn’t a worry, pointing out Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins — who just signed a huge contract extension and ran a 4.59 at his pro day five years ago — has a similar profile.
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“So running a middle-ish 40 does not damn you,” Tice said.
Where should Tetairoa McMillan go in the NFL Draft?
Tice is bullish on McMillan’s potential, and thinks he should be a top-10 pick. Harmon didn’t go quite that high, but is still a big fan of McMillan’s game and thinks he projects as similar potential-wise to the Broncos’ Courtland Sutton and the Colts’ Michael Pittman.
“You can get away with having them as your No. 1,” Harmon said. “You probably want them as, like, a really, really great No. 2. But to me, I think that’s still like a top 20 draft pick.”
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