There hasn’t been much consensus about the top players in this 2025 NFL Draft class, but there is general agreement on one thing: Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan is the best pure wideout in the group. The Athletic, ESPN, and PFF all have him ranked as the top wideout, with some placing him within their top five overall prospects.
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That’s because McMillan has been getting the job done for three years now. He doesn’t possess elite straight line speed, but he knows how to make big plays, as he led the Pac-12 in yards per reception (18.0) as a freshman. McMillan was excellent in his second season, leveraging his 6’5″, 212-pound frame, elite contested catch skills, and pristine route-running to put up 1,402 yards and 10 TDs.
He was just as good in 2024, posting a Big 12-best 1,319 yards to go with his eight scores. Playing in the Big 12 and Pac-12 meant that he wasn’t just putting up big numbers—he was doing so against the best the college football game had to offer. He went against some elite defensive backs, including fellow 2025 draft classmate Travis Hunter.
However, when Mike Florio asked T-Mac who his toughest opponent was in college, he went with a throwback from his freshman campaign.
“I’m gonna just go with a DB, Christian Gonzalez. I played him my freshman year and I think he went 17th overall in the 1st round. So, me being able to play that kind of competition at such an early stage of my college career is definitely a huge testament to why I am where I am right now,” said Polynesian College Football Player of the Year.
McMillan only matched up with Christian Gonzalez once in college. T-Mac was an Arizona freshman and Gonzalez was an Oregon senior in 2022. Oregon demolished the Wildcats 49-22 and Gonzalez finished with four tackles and a pass defended.
McMillan had a decent day, hauling in five passes, including a TD. However, his 48 yards were the 3rd-fewest of his first season and the 6th-fewest through his three years in Tucson.
Gonzalez did, in fact, go on to be drafted No. 17 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft—McMillan has quite the memory—though his rookie season was cut short due to a torn labrum after just four games. He had won Defensive Rookie of the Month for September, however, which was a sign of things to come. Fully healthy for the entire 2024 season, Gonzalez was named a Second-team All-Pro.
As for Travis Hunter, he and McMillan went toe-to-toe twice. Most would agree that they each won one of those battles. In 2023, McMillan had nine receptions for 107 yards and a TD in a tight comeback win over Colorado.
This past season, however, Hunter put the clamps on the top WR in this class. He allowed T-Mac just five receptions for 38 yards (both the 2nd-fewest for McMillan on the season) as Colorado won in dominant fashion.
Everyone is in agreement that McMillan is the top pure wideout in this class—but where he lands is a whole other story. Some have him going in the top five to the New England Patriots or Jacksonville Jaguars. Others see him sliding to the high teens or low 20s with the Los Angeles Chargers or Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It’s a win-win for McMillan. Either he lands in a dire situation as the top dog, or he goes to a strong team with the potential to make a deep playoff run right away.
