• Luther Burden III is the early favorite for WR1: The Missouri junior is the current favorite to be the top receiver in the 2025 NFL Draft thanks in large part to his elite after-the-catch ability.
• Tetairoa McMillan is on Burden’s heels: The Arizona junior is a close second to Burden and catches everything thanks to his strong hands and 6-foot-5 frame.
• The 2025 NFL Draft starts now: Try PFF's Mock Draft Simulator — trade picks and players and mock for your favorite NFL team.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
The 2024 NFL Draft was jam-packed with elite receiver talent. A total of seven wide receivers were selected in the first round, tying the record set by the 2004 class.
Early indications on next year’s class show that it’ll once again feature some fantastic pass-catchers. Here are the 10 wide receivers to know as we head into summer scouting for the 2025 NFL Draft.
(Please note: This isn’t necessarily a ranking of the top-10 prospects, rather a watch list.)
Check out our other 2025 NFL Draft summer watch list positional lists
Luther Burden III, Missouri
Burden is at his best with the ball in his hands. The sophomore’s 725 yards after the catch ranked third among all FBS receivers this past season while his 314 receiving yards after contact were the fourth-most.
The former five-star recruit also displayed impressive hands and body control this past season, dropping just four of his 94 catchable targets while coming down with 56.5% of his contested targets. There is some work to be done in terms of his route-running, but Burden is the early favorite to be WR1 next April.
Luther Burden III leads all Power Five WRs in:
???? Yards after the catch (340)
???? Receiving yards after contact (146)
???? Missed tackles forced (14)
???? Yards per route run (5.27)Making a strong case for the Biletnikoff.
Deebo Samuel-like. WR1 in 2025.pic.twitter.com/H0pPDoBzoR
— Max Chadwick (@MaxChadwickCFB) September 28, 2023
Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
If you throw it McMillan’s way, there’s a very good chance he’ll come down with it. There are two main reasons for that. The first is that he presents a massive target to throw to at 6-foot-5, giving him a larger catch radius than anyone on this list. His 17 contested catches in 2023 were second among FBS receivers to only Rome Odunze. The second is that he also has excellent hands, finishing with the lowest drop rate among Power Five receivers with at least 100 targets this past season (2.1%).
Only Malik Nabers and Odunze finished with more receiving yards than McMillan this year in the Power Five (1,396), and those two were the only FBS receivers who had more receiving first downs/touchdowns than the Arizona sophomore (63). They each were top-10 picks in 2024, something McMillan seems poised to accomplish next year.
Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State
Egbuka is returning for his senior season after missing three games with an ankle injury as a junior. The year before, he finished as the second-most-valuable receiver in the Power Five according to PFF’s wins above average metric, trailing only his teammate Marvin Harrison Jr. He was fifth in that same group in receiving yards (1,151) and tied for seventh in receiving touchdowns (10) in 2022.
Egbuka is a smooth route-runner who routinely finds the soft spots in zone coverage. His 86.1% open-target rate puts him in the 96th percentile of wide receivers over the last couple of seasons. If he can rebound in his senior campaign, he’ll reenter the first-round conversation.
Just some Emeka Egbuka highlight to cap off the weekend
pic.twitter.com/x91uYqzMZ1— The Victory Bell (@VictoryBellOSU) April 24, 2023
Evan Stewart, Oregon
The former Texas A&M receiver immediately showed why he was a top-10 recruit in the 2022 class, finishing with 643 receiving yards that year which was second among FBS true freshmen to only Tetairoa McMillan. He, unfortunately, couldn’t build upon that as a sophomore as he missed five games with a leg injury.
Stewart has natural athleticism but needs to get stronger, as he’s only 175 pounds at 6 feet tall. Over the last two years, he’s below the 15th percentile among FBS receivers in yards after the catch per reception, drop rate and contested catch rate. If he can pack on some pounds and continue developing at Oregon, he could end up in the first-round conversation.
EVAN STEWART WITH ONE HAND 🤯🤯@AggieFootball #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/GlfjyQoaRA
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) October 30, 2022
Isaiah Bond, Texas
Bond has the speed and agility to leave defenders in the dust. The former Alabama receiver had 18 plays in 2023 where hit at least 20 miles per hour. The only FBS receiver who had more was Kansas City Chiefs first-round pick Xavier Worthy, who set the 40-yard dash record at 4.21 seconds. That quickness makes Bond incredibly difficult for defensive backs to keep up with. This past season, his 92% open target rate was in the 99th percentile for FBS receivers. He has strong hands for the position as well, dropping only two of his 51 catchable targets this past season.
Now at Texas, he’ll be expected to take a much bigger step as Quinn Ewers’ top target with Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, Ja’Tavion Sanders and Jordan Whittingron off to the NFL.
Alabama needed a touchdown to go ahead with minutes remaining against Auburn. Jalen Milroe had all the time in the world and managed this incredible pass to Isaiah Bond. Roll Tide! pic.twitter.com/DQPJHCs1Hq
— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) November 26, 2023
Tre Harris, Ole Miss
Harris made the jump from the Group of Five to the Power Five level in 2023, transferring to Ole Miss from Louisiana Tech. Despite going from Conference USA to the SEC, he still finished with the sixth-best receiving grade in the nation (89.6). His 3.17 yards per route run was also ninth among all receivers in the country. He’s a difficult player to tackle at 6-foot-2, 205 pounds who’s made more than a few spectacular catches.
Harris’ biggest issue is that he’s a limited athlete who really struggles to gain separation. He was only open on 28.6% of his targets against single-coverage this past season, the second-worst rate in the FBS. And while he’s certainly capable of making highlight-reel grabs, he still only caught 35.7% of his contested targets in 2023.
Tre Harris brought it down with one hand on the sideline 👀
(via @OleMissFB) pic.twitter.com/fDt4WoyJqh
— SI College Football (@si_ncaafb) November 4, 2023
Elic Ayomanor, Stanford
Ayomanor suffered a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus in 2022, which caused him to miss all of his freshman season. Finally healthy in 2023, Ayomanor became a breakout star with 1,022 receiving yards, which was fifth among returning Power Five receivers. He’s a bigger receiver at 6-foot-2 who takes advantage of that size, his 14 contested catches this past year were tied for fourth among Power Five pass-catchers. Ayomanor did all of that while dealing with the worst quarterback situation of anybody on this list. As a team, Stanford’s 58.1 passing grade was 108th in the FBS.
The redshirt freshman announced himself to the college football world in Week 7 against Colorado. After being held without a catch in the first half, Ayomanor exploded for 13 catches, 294 yards (program record) and three touchdowns in the second half/overtime. Making that performance even more jaw-dropping is that potential top-10 pick Travis Hunter guarded him on seven of those catches and two of his touchdown grabs. While he struggles to gain separation one-on-one, it isn’t due to a lack of athleticism. He placed in the 96th percentile for wide receivers in PFF’s GAS model, which is designed to measure a player’s in-game athleticism using player-tracking data.
Just thinking about the time Elic Ayomanor went for 13 catches, 294 yards and three touchdowns on Colorado, all of which came in the second half.
(Also guarded by Travis Hunter for seven of those receptions and two of those TDs)
Top-🔟 WR for me
pic.twitter.com/qZ7tbFOc8U— Max Chadwick (@MaxChadwickCFB) February 17, 2024
Tory Horton, Colorado State
Speed is no issue for Horton. In fact, he had the fastest top speed of any FBS receiver this past season at 23.1 miles per hour. That explosiveness combined with his size (6-foot-2, 190 pounds) makes him a nightmare for Mountain West defenses to handle. His 2,275 receiving yards over the past two seasons are the fourth-most among FBS receivers. The only three ahead of Horton were all top-10 picks in the 2024 draft: Rome Odunze, Malik Nabers and Marvin Harrison Jr. He’s also a very willing blocker, placing fifth among FBS receivers with a 79.4 run-blocking grade in 2023.
Horton is just an average separator one-on-one, placing in the 51st percentile of FBS receivers with a 58% open-target rate against single coverage this past season. However, his size/speed combo will be very enticing for NFL teams.
OH MY TORY HORTON TOO SMOOTH pic.twitter.com/bEqp1qjqL8
— Liam Blutman (@Blutman27) September 17, 2023
Tez Johnson, Oregon
Formerly at Troy, Johnson made the transition from the Sun Belt conference to the Pac-12 look seamless this past season. He was one of the most dangerous receivers in America with the ball in his hands, pacing all Power Five receivers with 727 yards after the catch while his 278 receiving yards after contact were fifth. The junior averaged 3.45 yards per route run, which placed him behind only Malik Nabers in that same group. His 93.4% open-target rate also placed him in the 99th percentile of FBS receivers.
He has some drop issues and would be one of the lightest receivers in the NFL at his current size (160 pounds), but he could be a productive slot receiver in the league.
Tez Johnson hit 'em with the spin move ????
Oregon strikes first! pic.twitter.com/y4GXOGKnW4
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) November 12, 2023
Xavier Restrepo, Miami (FL)
Speaking of productive slot receivers, that’s precisely the way to describe Restrepo. His 1,074 receiving yards from that alignment were second among FBS receivers this past season to Malik Washington, who’s now with the Miami Dolphins. The junior finished with an 87.5 PFF grade this past season, seventh among Power Five receivers.
He’s just an average athlete who doesn’t offer much after the catch, averaging just 4.2 yards after the catch per reception this past season despite a low average depth of target. However, he understands how to get open and be a reliable security blanket for his quarterback.
This is phenomenal footwork by Xavier Restrepo on his TD catch????
— PFF College (@PFF_College) December 28, 2023
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