The 2025 NFL Draft is just over a month away. It’s time to get familiar with the rookie class with an eye on dynasty rookie drafts. I’ve already broken down the tight end class. Now we’re on to my top 10 wide receivers.
These rankings are geared toward fantasy football, but they largely line up with my thoughts on how NFL teams should approach the draft, with one notable exception.
1. Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
Everything about McMillan screams alpha. He was a five-star recruit who chose Arizona to play with his high school teammates including quarterback Noah Fifta. He immediately looked like a rising star, leading all true freshmen with 702 receiving yards. Departures on offense heading into his sophomore season freed up more targets and McMillan never looked back. He averaged 108 yards per game over his next two seasons. He earned College Dominators (the percent of his team’s yards and touchdowns) of 31 and then an absurd 41 percent. McMillan also topped three yards per team pass attempt in 2023 and 2024. He averaged 2.8 yards per route run after his freshman season. Even the way that he wins has WR1 aura. McMillan finished second in the country in receiving yards on intermediate throws (10-19 yards downfield) and 19th in deep yards (20+ yards downfield) two years ago. Those ranks shifted to 23rd and 10th in his final season.
McMillan wins in a similar area of the field as Marvin Harrison Jr. and fittingly averaged a nearly identical 5.4 yards after the catch per reception. Like Harrison Jr., the bulk of his damage is done from the outside and he doesn’t have an elite top gear, resulting in a disproportionate number of his targets being contested. McMillan’s 26.2 percent contested target rate is going to be the second-highest for a first-round pick since 2018. Quentin Johnston is at the top of the list, though McMillan is far closer to MHJ and Ja’Marr Chase, the two players right behind him on the list. The bigger issue for Johnston was his mediocre contested catch rate of 36 percent. McMillan again comes closer to Harrison Jr. and Chase with a 45 percent contested catch rate, though he is a few points lower than both of them. MHJ is ultimately my comp for Tet, though I make the comparison with the hindsight knowledge that Harrison Jr.’s style failed to translate to high-end production in year one.
2. Travis Hunter, Colorado
Hunter didn’t play much receiver at Jackson State, only donning the two-way mantle full-time at Colorado. He posted a 57/721/5 stat line in his first outing at wideout and found another gear as a true junior. In 2024, Hunter totaled 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 15 scores. He accounted for 35 percent of his team’s passing output at 2.5 yards per route run. Based on just his stats, Hunter grades out similarly to Drake London and Calvin Ridley.
With Hunter, you can’t end the conversation with his stats. That he is capable of playing cornerback and wide receiver at a high level speaks volumes about his overall athleticism. He was a five-star recruit who has never shown anything but world-class football acumen. The biggest question for both fantasy managers and general managers is how Hunter will be deployed. A loose consensus seemed to form at the NFL Combine with a majority of league evaluators believing he will play receiver in the pros. Browns GM Andrew Berry is on record saying they see him as a wideout and Hunter himself said he would play receiver if he has to pick a position.
#Browns GM Andrew Berry views Travis Hunter primarily as a receiver but is a “unicorn” because he can also play CB: pic.twitter.com/cs7FC2R9CT
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) February 25, 2025
For NFL purposes, this is mostly a good problem to have. Hunter would be my WR1 if these rankings were made with exclusively NFL value in mind. In fantasy, it’s a bit trickier. Between Hunter’s elite upside and the NFL Combine sentiment favoring receiver as his primary position, I am more than willing to take shots on Hunter as a top-five pick in dynasty drafts.
3. Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State
Always the bridesmaid never the bride, Egbuka was Ohio State’s No. 2 receiver for the final three years of his collegiate career. He played opposite Marvin Harrison Jr. for two seasons and closed his career alongside freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith. Because of this, he never hit a true breakout (30 percent dominator) but did log three seasons with a 20 percent dominator. Even while playing next to MHJ as a sophomore, Egbuka looked like a star in the making with 1,151 yards and 10 scores. He played through an ankle injury as a junior to disastrous results, logging just 515 yards at 1.97 yards per route run. He topped three YPRR—an elite mark—in the previous season. Egbuka rebounded in his final season with another 1,000 yards and double-digit touchdowns at 2.59 YPRR.
Ekbuka ran 75 percent of his routes from the slot and is likely fated for slot duties in the NFL. He stands 6’1/205 and isn’t overly explosive. Ekbuka moves the chains, as evidenced by his .12 first downs per route run, but doesn’t generate monster gains. He caught just five deep passes in his final season. I wouldn’t, however, shut the door on him playing outside entirely. He averaged 2.8 YPRR and was targeted on a third of his routes when lined up out wide in college. The lack of explosive plays paired with an unknown 40-yard dash points to a limited ceiling for Egbuka However, the floor is so high that it’s hard to pass on him as a sure bet for a WR2 future in the NFL.
4. Luther Burden, Missouri
Burden checks most of the analytics boxes. His 377 receiving yards as a true freshman were nothing to write home about but five touchdowns boosted his dominator to 27 percent. Burden then posted a true breakout season with 86 receptions for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns. Even Burden’s final season which featured just 666 receiving yards—a disappointment by most standards—was good for a 38 percent dominator, one point better than his 2023 eruption. Burden was playing through a shoulder injury and the Mizzou offense took a step back, giving him some cover for the downturn in production. The combo of an early breakout and a high share of the Tigers’ passing attack over his entire career is as good as it gets if paired with first-round capital. The spreadsheets also match the eye test. Burden navigates tight areas with uncanny precision, putting his foot in the ground and changing direction on a dime.
The specifics of his production have some minor red flags raised. Burden was used predominantly on short throws throughout his time at Mizzou. He registered a career aDOT of 9.0 and only caught 20 deep throws throughout his career. Even more notable is how much of his production came on screens. Burden went for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns on 86 grabs in his peak season. Of that, 31 receptions came on screens. For his career, 34.6 percent of Burden’s yards came on screens. Since 2018, 12 receivers who have earned at least a third of their yardage on screens have been drafted in the first three rounds. Two of the 12 were hits—Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk—with Xavier Worthy looking like a third success. It’s not a great list to be on, but it’s not a disqualifier either.
5. Tre Harris, Ole Miss
Harris was a high school quarterback who made the transition to wide receiver at Louisiana Tech. He got the ball rolling as a sophomore with 562 yards and found his stride as a junior, upping the ante to 954 yards and 10 touchdowns for a true breakout season. Harris then transferred to Ole Miss where his efficiency hit historic highs. His yardage output hovered around 1,000 for two seasons but he averaged 3.2 yards per route in 2023 and a stunning 5.1 YPRR in 2024. That easily gives him the single-season record (min. 200 routes) over the past decade.
Which 2025 WR prospects were the most efficient on a career-long sample?
— Dataroma (@ffdataroma) March 18, 2025
This chart uses career YPRR and career passer rating when targeted to determine the most efficient WR prospects.
+ Travis Hunter.. please play WR
+ Tre Harris an efficiency monster
+ Jalen Royals👀 pic.twitter.com/h0bWyS1dIW
The high-level data loves Harris. Digging deeper, there are some red flags. Chief among them is how many of his targets were contested. Harris has a career contested target rate of 29 percent. Since 2019, 26 drafted receivers have had a career contested target rate over 25 percent. Only two—Nico Collins and Tee Higgins—were major hits at the NFL level. Though a handful have come in the past two classes, so the hit rate is likely higher. Harris was good in contested situations but not special, reeling in 48 percent of these looks. His contested rate fell at Ole Miss when he also had the benefit of running a relatively narrow route tree, as is often the case in a Lane Kiffin offense. Harris showed well at the combine with a 9.19 RAS at 6’2/205. He isn’t quite as large as previous jump-ball success stories and that profile is fraught with risk. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside is the poster boy for this kind of bust. But you can’t ignore the production and efficiency. Before factoring in draft capital, Harris has a top-five resume in the class.
6. Elic Ayomanor, Stanford
The Canadian recruit redshirted his freshman year due to injury and burst onto the scene as a sophomore with Stanford’s first 1,000-yard seasons since J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (two JJAW mentions in one article?). Stanford’s passing attack went from bad to defunct in Ayomanor’s final season and his numbers took a hit across the board. He fell to 831 yards and, while his touchdown total held steady at six, his touchdown share dropped from 55 percent to 33 percent. He also went from 2.3 yards per route run to 1.9. The 6’2/206 wideout leverages his size to win contested boundary targets at a high rate. The former Cardinal was contested for 28 percent of his targets. That’s slightly lower than Tre Harris, but Ayomanor caught three percent fewer of his contested looks. He also brings less to the table in terms of yards after the catch per reception (4.5) and missed tackles forced per catch (.13). The big question for Ayomanor is if he can translate his clasher style to the NFL.
Ayomanor gave us some confidence that the answer is yes at the combine.
He crushed the burst drills with a 38.5” vertical and a 10’7” broad. A 4.44 Forty is also impressive for his size. If Ayomanor gets buy-in from the NFL with first or second-round draft capital, I will be more than willing to write off his stylistic red flags and bet on him from a fantasy perspective.
7. Matthew Golden, Texas
Golden committed to Houston out of high school and played two years with the Cougars before transferring to Texas for a final season of college ball. Golden was an outside burner to his core and it showed up in both the film and the numbers. He finished 2024 26th in the country in receiving yards but 14th in deep yards. This was also readily apparent at the combine with a 4.29 Forty at 5’11/191. His route tree isn’t perfect, but Golden’s footwork is impressive and he varies the speed of his routes well to throw off defenders. Golden has a strong contingent in the film-watcher crowd, with some analysts ranking him as their top wideout aside from Hunter.
The spreadsheets aren’t as kind to Golden. He has a career yards per route run of 1.85. For reference, 2.0 is a quick and dirty benchmark for good receiver play in the NFL. Golden hit that mark at Texas but fell well short as a Cougar. He also never hit a 30 percent dominator rating. Between 2005 and 2022, a dozen receivers without a true breakout have been drafted in the first round. None have posted multiple WR1 seasons. That isn’t to say there have been no hits. Jaylen Waddle missed a second WR1 season by one spot and Chris Olave has four WR1 seasons in my heart. But, it does look like the players who don’t achieve a dominant season in college are also unlikely to consistently do so in the NFL. Golden is going to go in the first round and could surpass even McMillan in draft capital, meaning he’s destined to be a riser for me after the draft. For now, I remain bearish.
8. Jayden Higgins, Iowa State
Higgins was an unheralded, two-star prospect coming out of high school and didn’t do much as a freshman. He spent his sophomore season proving college scouts wrong with a 58/757/10 receiving line at Eastern Kentucky. Higgins wasn’t a top name in the transfer portal and landed at Iowa State where his warpath continued with 983 yards, albeit with fewer receptions and touchdowns. He closed his collegiate career with an 87/1,183/9 receiving line, good for a 38 percent dominator rating. Higgins averaged 2.6 yards per team pass attempt and 2.8 YPRR as a Cyclone. Higgins played primarily on the outside, using his 6’7” wingspan and 6’4/214 frame to haul in 56 percent of his career contested targets at an average target depth of 13.3. Like Harris and Ayomanor before him, Higgins will likely be typecast as a 50/50-ball specialist in the NFL. However, his career contested target rate of 23 percent is lower than both of those players and he won his jump balls at a far higher clip.
Higgins balled out at the combine with a 39” vertical and a 10’8” broad. A 4.47 Forty gave him a 9.92 RAS.
With his massive stature, Higgins isn’t built for YAC. He averaged 4.5 career YAC and rarely made defenders miss with the ball in his hands. The leggy frame also makes it hard for Higgins to have the sharpest breaks in his routes. There’s a limited ceiling with Higgins given his lack of dynamism with the ball in his hands, but all of the numbers suggest he can be a team’s No. 2 or even 1B receiver at the next level.
9. Jalen Royals, Utah State
Royals went to Georgia Militaty Acadamey as a freshman and didn’t get much run in his first season at Utah Splate, playing sparingly on offense and special teams. He finally got on the field as a junior and made the most of his opportunities with a stellar 71/1,080/15 receiving line. A foot injury limited him to seven games as a senior, but Royals cemented his draft profile with 864 yards and five scores in the abbreviated seasons. He closed his collegiate career with 40 catches for 666 yards in his final four games including a 211-yard, two-score outing versus a playoff-bound Boise State. As you would expect, Royals crushed the advanced metrics with two true breakout seasons. His play got better in his final campaign and he averaged 3.0 yards per route run and 2.9 yards per team pass attempt.
Royals is an outside speedster who thrives in contested catch situations. He had a contested catch rate of 58 percent at Utah State, the fifth-highest rate for a player with a contested target rate over 20 percent since the 2018 draft. Royals tested well at the combine, running a 4.42 Forty with a 1.49-second 10-yard split. The downside is he measured in at 6’0/205. For a player who earned a disproportionate amount of his targets in contested situations, that’s not the exact body type NFL teams are looking for.
10. Jaylin Noel, Iowa State
Noel is the second Cyclone wideout headed to the draft. He played all four years at Iowa State and gained traction in his second season with a 61/609/3 line. Despite Jayden Higgins breaking out in 2023, Noel did the same with 820 yards and seven scores. His numbers improved in 2024 with 1,200 yards from scrimmage, 81 receptions, and eight touchdowns. Noel also logged his second season in a row with 2.6 yards per route run. The career slot receiver then crushed the combine with a 9.72 RAS. He ran a 4.39 Forty and crushed the burst drills with a 41.5” vertical and an 11’2” broad. Noel also did well in the agility drills and put up an absurd 23 bench press reps at 5’10/194. That was more than five different offensive linemen. Noel also returned kicks and punts at Iowa State and added 84 rushing yards on 13 career attempts.
Despite his game-breaking athleticism, Noel wasn’t particularly dynamic after the catch. He averaged 5.4 YAC per reception, the same mark as Tetairoa McMillan, a boundary receiver with high contested catch numbers. His career mark of 21 missed tackles forced on receptions is stunningly low given his catch total of 247. Noel’s drop rate of 7.2 percent is also less than ideal for a slot receiver. Noel looks like a future starting slot receiver in the pros, but his ceiling depends on him translating his supreme athletic testing into a more dynamic play style.
