When you talk about some of the most prolific wide receivers in this 2025 NFL Draft, Arizona standout Tetairoa McMillan might be the first name you should point to. Standing at 6'5" and north of 210 lbs, the All-American out of Hawaii/California has a size profile that makes him instantly stand out in a class with some high-profile smaller options like Luther Burden and Emeka Ebuka.
Decomitting from Oregon as a Four-Star, Top 50 recruit in the nation, "TMac" has become a key name in College Football over the last two seasons, putting up consecutive seasons averaging 100-plus yards per game, along with 18 touchdowns, culminating in a Consensus All-American selection in 2024; making him the first Wildcat WR to do so since Dennis Northcutt back in 1999, and first pass catcher of any kind to get the AP All American nod since this guy named Rob Gronkowski in 2009.
McMillan has been viewed as a near-consensus top-10 prospect for quite some time now, and outside of Travis Hunter, he is viewed as the best receiver in this class. He has a physical profile that any NFL team would kill for at the X spot, and his production against the Pac-12 and Big-XII was terrific. But the ultimate question is, does the tape hold up?
Player Bio
Name: Tetairoa "Tet" McMillan
Jersey: No. 4
Position: Wide Reciever
School: Arizona
Class: Redshirt Junior
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 212 lbs
Games Watched: vs. Colorado and UCLA (2023), vs. New Mexico, Texas Tech, Utah, Colorado (2024)
Player Breakdown
Hands/Ball Security (9.75/10)
TMac's combination of hands and condor-esque wingspan puts him in rare air among receiver prospects. For some of his weak spots that we'll get into shortly, does it matter if he's able to make catches like this as an NFL wide receiver???
Not much is ever out of the reach of McMillan, and he's excellent at high-pointing the ball, which should come as no surprise, and if there's one trait you could have to make up for lack of all-around separation ability, those two are right up at the top. If there's any real one knock, it's that he has a tendency to carry the ball with just one hand sometimes, and that's simply a fumble waiting to happen. It's not something he'll be able to get away with by next August.
Contested Catch (9.75/10)
McMillan has had a whopping 86 career contested catch attempts at Arizona, which is more than double the attempts any of Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, or Nico Collins had in college, plus at least 20 more attempts than any of last year's big three. On those 86 attempts, he's an exact coin flip. Not the over 60 percent rate of Travis Hunter on 27 tries (I think that rate would hold up with a bigger sample size, personally), but that's an excellent number, given the sheer volume. This grab against UCLA was probably his best on tape. You only need the one foot in bounds in college, and he got that with room to spare; unreal play.
Tracking/Ball Skills (9.75/10)
One example instantly comes to mind to demonstrate TMac's unreal tracking ability, and it wasn't even a catch (it would've been off of the Rule of Cool). The endzone view is slowed down quite a bit, so bear with it, but watch McMillan here on a sideline shot that was initially ruled a catch. Extraordinary doesn't even begin to describe this effort, and there have been a lot of high-effort concentration grabs like that that did count for him throughout his college career.
Route Running (8.75/10)
A lack of crispness/suddenness on intermediate in/outbreaks was a common trend with McMillan, but the big man ran a fairly diverse tree, all things considered. The one route in his arsenal that I wished Arizona tried to get him some more designed looks on would be his zig/whip, which he had some great success on non-target and target snaps alike. (Note: He absolutely furious over that first play and quite frankly, I don't blame him)
Outside of that, McMillan's ability to understand and attack zone coverage also came in handy and is another invaluable trait he possesses. Watch him sell this route over the middle, the ramp back up for one of his long scores vs. New Mexico.
Separation (7.75/10)
Separation isn't exactly TMac's game, but that wasn't a massive hindrance, thanks to his catch radius being his best friend in tight situations. Whether or not that remains the case in the NFL remains to be seen, and some statistical trends don't bode well for him. That said, he did a consistently good job on these hitches and comebackers to free himself up by a lot for YAC opportunities. He occasionally gained a step or two going vertical, but I want him to try to improve at getting space for himself with tighter cuts on in and out breakers, as previously mentioned.
Release (7.75/10)
A common negative trait that I've seen/read about McMillan that was upheld on film is that he lacks a lot of explosiveness and violence off the line. That was a bit disappointing because, especially in YAC situations from a standstill, I thought McMillan showed off some great burst and got through the gears very quickly. He didn't face a ton of press (New Mexico was mortified to go anywhere near him at the line of scrimmage), and it was certainly a struggle in spots working through physicality in a timely manner, but there were also times he did a great job putting good hands and footwork together to beat press off the snap. Take this opening play vs. Utah, for example.
Run After the Catch (9.5/10)
YAC opportunities were something McMillan had a ton of, and I was thoroughly impressed with his ability to create for himself and the Arizona offense. Even beyond the New Mexico game, where...yeah...there was a bit of a talent gap, these pair of plays against UCLA and then Texas Tech show off what he could do against P4 competition.
Vertical Speed (8.5/10)
Not a super elite vertical threat by any means, but for a guy carrying around a 6'5" 212 lb frame, the fact that Tet has been tracked in-game hitting 20 mph on the dot is crazy. I wouldn't be stunned if he could be a hair or two faster than this; it should be interesting to see more in-game tracking data and then his 40 time.
Burst/Acceleration (3.75/5)
McMillian's ability of the line was pretty hit or miss, and although his overall acceleration ability was good beyond the LOS (see that Texas Tech YAC gain), there were times when those first few strides off the snap could've been a bit more forceful for my liking.
Athleticism (5/5)
There is not much to say here. McMillan is (listed at) 6'5", can absolutely glide in top gear for his size, and can climb the ladder very well. He's also not super twitchy but is pretty fluid, which is understandable given his frame.
Blocking (2/5)
Tet was ultimately a good enough blocker in tight around the line of scrimmage when the occasion arose, but I thought his work in space left a lot to be desired. He was very inconsistent in maintaining blocks, and I wish he were better at engaging and taking angles at defenders to engage. On a final note, this 4th&1 play down by the goalline vs Texas Tech infuriated me. I'm not exactly expecting him to block corners into the earth's crust on plays like this out wide, but can we not stroll off the line and let the corner lined up on you get a potential TD-saving tackle without a fight? Am I asking for too much?
Versatility (5/5)
Not being super exposed to TMac beforehand outside of highlights, I was stunned to see him line up as a jumbo slot as much as I did, never mind that he was excellent as a jumbo slot. I believe he has the ability and upside to develop into a guy who could line up at any receiver spot. I wouldn't be shocked if he primarily lines up in the slot in year one with his great knack for finding soft spots vs. zone and getting some comical size mismatches. It all depends on his landing spot, but just something to keep in mind.
Player Summary
After watching McMillan, I understand the Drake London comps that've been thrust upon him. A big body WR who has separation concerns but has great hands and is an asset in contested catch situations with elite tracking and athleticism. While he doesn't get a top-10 grade here, if you're one of those teams inside the top 10 who believe you can bring him along in development, and by the time you get him to year three, he's in the ballpark of where London was this 2024 season, that to me is a worthwhile selection. I can't say having a 1200-yard pass catcher with eight scores is a bad asset to have on any team.
McMillian has enough in terms of ball skills, catch radius, ability at the catch point, and after the catch to be a solid contributor right away. Think along the lines of Rome Odunze with the Bears from a production standpoint. I definitely want to see some improvements in his explosiveness off the line, run blocking, adding some crispness in his intermediate routes, and more muscle mass to combat press consistently, but there's always going to be a place for a guy like Tet McMillan in the NFL. Teams in the top 10 who make some sense for him would include the Patriots, Raiders, Jets, and even the Panthers, depending on what they do to fix that defense going into April. However, him slipping into the teens wouldn't surprise me one bit.
Rookie Projection: Starting Reciever (Primary Jumbo Slot w/Outside Usage)
Third-Year Projection: 1000 Yard Per Season Upside
Final Grade: (87.25/100) Mid-First-Round Talent
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