First of all, I’m ranking Travis Hunter as a CB not a WR. He can and will play WR in the NFL but I think his primary position should be CB. Just for argument’s sake, he would maybe be #2 in these rankings, I have a hard time slotting him in. McMillan is the only guy who would have competed for a spot amongst last year’s top 4 guys (Marvin Harrison Jr, Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze, and Brian Thomas Jr.). This group is nowhere near as good at the top as last year’s but there are some good mid-round picks here.
Wide Receivers
1. Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona): McMillan is a physical freak in terms of his elite size, he’s 6’5 210 lbs. and uses all of it to dominate at the catch point. He has enough speed to be a deep threat down the field in the mold of Tee Higgins or Mike Evans. The only worry I have about McMillan is sometimes these big WRs don’t translate to the NFL. I’m not sure McMillan will ever be Higgins or Evans, those are lofty expectations. However, he’s not going to be a bust like N’Keal Harry or Laquan Treadwell, he’s a better receiver than those guys.
2. Luther Burden III (Missouri): It is absolutely true that Burden had a down year at Missouri as their offense simply wasn’t as good as it had been. QB Brady Cook had a nagging injury all season and that had an effect. Burden is still an elite playmaker. He’s short but well built and his run after the catch ability is elite. There’s some DJ Moore to his game and maybe some Deebo Samuel after the catch ability.
3. Emeka Egbuka (Ohio St.): Yep, another Ohio St. guy. Egbuka has been a prospect for a few years. Two years ago, he was really good when OSU had Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, he came back to be the #2 guy to Marvin Harrison Jr. and was banged up that year. Then he returned and ended up being the #2 guy to Jeremiah Smith and he had a really good year. Egbuka is a #2 WR in the NFL and that shouldn’t be a problem for him, he’s used to that role. He’s efficient, effective, and just excellent at everything.
4. Matthew Golden (Texas): It was supposed to be Isaiah Bond who had the breakout season at Texas as a WR after he transferred in from Alabama but Golden stole his spotlight. It’s not a great WR group and Golden isn’t a superstar receiver at this point. He’s steady and reliable but he’s not going to wow you athletically or with his size. He’s just a dependable guy who runs his routes well and plays with some passion and fire and will get things done.
5. Jayden Higgins (Iowa St): As much as I loathe giving Iowa St. any credit, Higgins is a really talented WR with great size and can line up anywhere. He has the size and speed you want outside but he’s also good as a big slot receiver if you line him up there. He will be an affective WR for some team and should go in round two of this draft.
*Other player to mention: Tez Johnson (Oregon): Johnson is an extremely small WR who measured in at on 156 lbs. at the Senior Bowl. That’s tough as he’s even smaller than Tank Dell was coming into the league and Dell was a major outlier. That would be a huge problem if Johnson did show the elite separation skills, his ridiculous speed, and his natural ability to catch the football. It’s hard to imagine a guy this small succeeding in the NFL but it’s harder to imagine Tez Johnson not being an awesome slot receiver in the NFL.
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