HEADLINES

Tetairoa McMillan

Seahawks Still Open To Drafting QB; Team Eyeing OL, WR Additions

April 18th, 2025 at 3:01pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Seahawks have their starting quarterback of the present and (potentially) future in Sam Darnold. The team has also reunited with Drew Lock to compete for the backup gig with returnee Sam Howell. Despite those moves, drafting a quarterback is still on the table.

“I think it’s a great situation,” general manager John Schneider said of the team’s new quarterback setup during his latest appearance on Seattle Sports radio. “It doesn’t preclude us from doing anything in the draft either, in figuring out what’s going on there. It’s really like an, ‘OK, let’s get this in the mix.’ Drew had other opportunities, so we figured we better wrap this up, kind of put a bow on it, get him in the building and then let’s see what happens in the draft, because it’s difficult to find that great fit at quarterback as you move through the process.”

Darnold inked a three-year pact to replace Geno Smith atop the depth chart, but the Seahawks could move on after the 2025 campaign based on the structure of his deal. Neither Lock nor Howell (a pending 2026 free agent) have established themselves as full-time starting options in their careers, so adding a rookie to the mix would be feasible. Seattle owns 10 picks in April’s draft, but the team of course also has roster holes to fill at other positions.

That includes the interior of the offensive line, a spot Schneider has previously mentioned as a position of need. Selecting a guard would come as little surprise, and PFR’s mock draft has the team taking Alabama’s Tyler Booker 18th overall. The Seahawks have other Day 1 options to consider up front, though, and one of them appears to be firmly on the radar.

Grey Zabel is believed to be a Seattle target, Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline reports. The North Dakota State product’s stock has risen during the pre-draft process, and he is firmly on the Day 1 radar (although Pauline adds the Seahawks could look to trade down the order before adding Zabel). In any case, a blocker added early in the draft would have the chance to play right away on an offensive line looking to rebound from last year’s showing.

Confirming O-line is a logical target in Seattle’s case, ESPN’s Matt Miller writes a receiver is another position to watch early in the draft. Adding size in particular to a WR room which lost D.K. Metcalf last month could be in play, per Miller. As a result, Tetairoa McMillan could be a target on Day 1. Seattle still has Jaxon Smith-Njigba atop the depth chart along with veteran Cooper Kupp, who was signed in free agency after Tyler Lockett‘s release. There is room for an impact rookie to play a rotational role starting in 2025.

Overall, the Seahawks have five of the first 92 selections in this year’s draft. Schneider will have plenty of opportunities to add at several positions as a result, but upgrading up front and/or in the pass-catching department early would come as no surprise.

Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan Visited Raiders, Chargers, Browns, Seahawks

April 16th, 2025 at 3:13pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan is making the rounds around the NFL ahead of next week’s draft with a total of 11 completed or scheduled visits, per FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz.

McMillan’s visits with the Cowboys, Patriots, Saints, and Panthers have already been reported, and he also visited the Raiders, Chargers, Browns, and Seahawks. He is set to visit three more teams before the draft commences next Thursday.

McMillan’s busy schedule and in-person invitation to the draft in Green Bay has solidified his status as a projected first-round pick and potentially the first wide receiver off the board. He was described as having “true star-level tools and elite production,” by one league executive (via Schultz).

Those tools are a 6-foot-5, 212-pound frame that gives McMillan an excellent catch radius in contested situations, as well as surprisingly smooth movement skills for his size. The 22-year-old turned that physicality and athleticism into 174 catches on 260 targets for 2,712 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns across the 2023 and 2024 seasons, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

All of the teams that McMillan has already visited could use a wide receiver with his potential to contribute in the NFL right away and develop into a long-term WR1. Five of his visits were to teams with top-10 picks, suggesting that his name could be called early on draft night.

NFL Announces 17 Prospects Attending NFL Draft

April 14th, 2025 at 6:30pm CST by Ben Levine

There will be 17 draft prospects waiting in the green room to hear their name announced next week. The NFL announced the players who will attend the first round next Thursday night in Green Bay:

When players commit to attending the first round of the draft, their respective camps have often been given some kind of assurance that they’ll be selected within the top-32 picks. Of course, that’s not a prerequisite, and as we’ve seen many times, there are some overly-confident prospects who subsequently endure the very-public waiting game.

Per usual, the most notable inclusions surround the QB position. Cam Ward is the favorite to go first-overall, and Shedeur Sanders (who is absent from this list) is also expected to be selected at some point in the first round. After that, the position is pretty uncertain, and that could lead to some awkward moments for the other QBs who decided to attend.

Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe have firmly established themselves in that next tier of QB prospects, and recent reports have indicated that they should be at least Day 2 picks. There haven’t been any definitive reports about their Day 1 candidacy, and while we shouldn’t read too much into the list of attendees, it is notable that both prospects believe they have a shot of going in the top-32 selections.

Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan To Visit Patriots, Saints, Cowboys

April 13th, 2025 at 11:52am CST by Rory Parks

First-round wide receiver prospect Tetairoa McMillan has secured visits with the Patriots, Saints, and Cowboys, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. Wilson also confirms the previously-reported McMillan-Panthers summit.

McMillan’s size (6-4, 219), catch radius, and ability to make contested catches are among his chief selling points, while his lack of deep speed and inability to create consistent separation – which is why he needed to make so many contested grabs – have caused some concern. The highest recruit in the history of the Arizona football program, McMillan averaged 87 catches for 1,360.5 yards and nine TDs for the Wildcats over the past two seasons. He finished his college career with a 16.1 yards-per-catch average, thus illustrating his ability to make big plays downfield despite the fact that he is not a blazing runner.

After a long search that saw the team make aggressive pursuits for Brandon Aiyuk and Chris Godwin over the last year, New England finally landed a quality, veteran wideout when it signed Stefon Diggs last month. Nonetheless, Diggs is coming off a platform campaign cut short by an ACL tear, and between the injury and the fact that he is entering his age-32 season, there is reason to believe he will not return to his peak level of performance.

As such, it would not be surprising to see the Pats add more top-tier talent at the skill positions to aid in second-year quarterback Drake Maye’s development. On the other hand, new head coach Mike Vrabel has said addressing the club’s offensive and defensive lines would be a top offseason priority, and blockers like LSU’s Will Campbell and Missouri’s Armand Membou have been consistently linked to New England as possible solutions for the team’s glaring left tackle need. 

Either of those OTs are realistic targets for the Pats and their No. 4 pick, though McMillan is unlikely to be selected that high. But, if the Pats find a trade-down opportunity to their liking, McMillan could become an option.

The Saints bolstered their WR corps by reuniting with Brandin Cooks this offseason, and they also return Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. However, all three players missed significant time due to injury in 2024, so another receiver addition would not come as a shock. Still, New Orleans has more pressing needs, including a long-term quarterback. While the club could still target a passer with its second-round pick – by which time McMillan is likely to be long gone – a QB like Shedeur Sanders or Jaxson Dart are legitimate possibilities for the Saints’ No. 9 overall pick.

Dallas, Cooks’ most recent employer, has confirmed that it is in the market for a WR to complement CeeDee Lamb, and McMillan could be a fit for the club’s No. 12 selection. The team recently met with several other high-end WR prospects, Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka and Texas’ Matthew Golden, though the Cowboys could see running back as a bigger need.

Panthers To Host WR Tetairoa McMillan

March 29th, 2025 at 4:05pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Panthers have been linked to several defensive prospects regarding their top pick in next month’s draft. The team will look into at least one first-round receiver prospect as well, however.

Tetairoa McMillan has a top-30 visit lined up with Carolina, Joe Person of The Athletic reports. The Panthers have already drawn connections to South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori and Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams, and selecting either on Day 1 would not come as a surprise given their need to improve on defense. Without having made any receiver additions so far this offseason, though, drafting one could also be in play.

Recent draft classes have featured several high-profile prospects at the WR position. That is not believed to be the case this year, but McMillan represents one of the top options on the board. The Arizona product faced major expectations upon arrival as a five-star recruit, and he delivered by becoming the school’s all-time leading receiver (3,423 career yards in three years). McMillan earned third-team All-American honors in 2023, and he received a first-team nod this past season.

The 6-4, 219-pounder will be expected to operate as a red zone specialist at the NFL level, and his track record of contested catches is strong. Questions related to his deep speed have hurt his draft stock, however, and his range within the first round has been lowered to an extent as a result. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah places McMillan 16th on his latest big board, while ESPN’s Matt Miller slots him in at No. 18.

The Panthers are set to draft eighth overall, meaning a McMillan pick would likely be seen as a slight reach. Carolina ranked just 30th in the NFL in passing yards last season, though, so adding a rookie early in the draft at the receiver position for a second straight year would be feasible. Xavier Legette was selected on Day 1 in 2024, and he and veteran Adam Thielen will be counted on to operate as starters next year.

The latter has given thought to retirement, so a long-term replacement will be needed on the part of the Panthers as early as the upcoming draft. McMillan will be among the prospects to watch closely as Carolina weighs its first-round options.

2025 WR Draft Class Lacking Top-End Talent

February 26th, 2025 at 8:11pm CST by Ely Allen

There seems to be a theme developing throughout the 2025 NFL Draft as we continue to draw nearer to the NFL Scouting Combine. There’s a consensus beginning to form that this draft lacks top-end, star talent, instead providing a deep group of likely starters and contributors. We’ve seen this assertion circulate with the quarterbacks and offensive tackles in this class already, but more recently, this opinion is starting to be applied to wide receivers, as well.

NFL fans have been spoiled in recent years with plenty of no-brainer, star first-round receivers from Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers in 2024 to Drake London and Garrett Wilson in 2022 to Ja’Marr Chase, Jaylen Waddle, and DeVonta Smith in 2021. This year’s crop more closely resembles the 2023 draft, in which a wide receiver wasn’t drafted until Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Quentin Johnston, Zay Flowers, and Jordan Addison were all chosen consecutively from pick Nos. 20-23.

Colorado’s Travis Hunter sits atop most draft boards, but the consensus seems to be that this is either because of his potential as a defensive back or his potential to contribute on both sides of the ball, however unlikely that may be in the NFL. Behind Hunter, players like Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan, Missouri’s Luther Burden, and Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka are routinely seen as the next top options for the position.

For a time, McMillan was seen as the top wide receiver prospect, even being considered more valuable as a receiver than Hunter. As pundits and scouts have done deeper dives into the class, though, concerns have arisen over McMillan’s deep speed, per ESPN’s Matt Miller. He still ranks easily as a first-round pick, thanks to a large frame that makes him an easy mismatch over most defenders, but that lack of top-end velocity is seemingly keeping him out of the top 10 picks. On ESPN’s First Draft Podcast, Mel Kiper Jr. claimed that McMillan is being viewed more in the range of picks from Nos. 12 to 22, per Nick Kendell of the Mile High Huddle.

Still, after Hunter and McMillan, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah sees a lot of receivers like Burden, Egbuka, and Texas’ Matthew Golden that he believes will be polished professionals in the back third of the first round, according to a breakdown he did with The Ringer’s Todd McShay and Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.

We may not see a surge of receivers taken in the top 10 like we’ve seen plenty of in recent years, but the lack of star power does not take away from the depth of the position. Wide receiver is typically a bit of a crapshoot in the first round of the draft, and this group is likely to continue that trend, but with how the position’s draft stock is shaping up, those risks will be coming later in the first round.

Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan Declares For 2025 Draft

December 13th, 2024 at 1:08pm CST by Adam La Rose

To no surprise, Tetairoa McMillan will turn pro this spring. The junior wideout has declared for the 2025 NFL draft as expected.

McMillan enjoyed a stellar career at Arizona, and his receiving yardage total (3,423) marks the school’s all-time record. He posted 1,319 yards and eight touchdowns on 84 catches in 2024, essentially a duplication of last year’s output. His production made him a strong candidate for the Biletnikoff Award (given to the country’s top receiver), although that honor went to Colorado’s Travis Hunter.

Still, McMillan was named a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association, in addition to first-team All-Conference honors. The 6-5, 212-pounder confirmed his status as one of the top receiving prospects in the country over the course of the 2024 campaign, and it comes as no surprise he has elected to turn pro at the first opportunity to do so. McMillan will not need to wait long to hear his name called.

ESPN’s Mel Kiper ranks McMillan as the No. 2 receiver prospect in this year’s class (behind only Hunter), placing him 11th overall. It remains to be seen if Hunter will be used as a wideout, a corner or both at the NFL level, but in terms of players who strictly fit the WR description McMillan could easily find himself as the top player selected. Any number of NFL teams could use an infusion of size and productivity at the position.

Missouri standout Luther Burden III has also declared for the draft as expected, and he is another Day 1 candidate at the receiver spot. His size and profile is much different to McMillan’s, and NFL teams may establish a preference of one over the other during the pre-draft process. In any case, both playmakers will face considerable expectations at the NFL level in 2025.