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Summer Scouting: Another great receiver class coming in 2025 draft?

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5 months ago

June 14, 2024

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Summer Scouting: Another great receiver class coming in 2025 draft?

The 2024 NFL Draft was heralded for a standout class of wide receivers that was considered both deep and talented.

This year’s draft saw 16 receivers drafted through the first three rounds, and there were potential starters drafted as late as the fourth round. The position is obviously important to Joe Schoen, as the New York Giants have selected a receiver highly in each of this first three drafts.

We don’t yet know what the Giants’ needs will be by the time the 2025 Draft gets here. But given how they’ve prioritized adding wideouts, it would make sense to keep an eye on the position again this year. Fortunately, it looks as though we’re in for another strong group of wide receivers — so much so that we have to preview ten receivers before we even get to the “other names to watch”.

Luther Burden (Missouri)

Missouri’s Luther Burden is the consensus preseason favorite to be the first receiver off the board next spring – and for good reason. Burden is a thick receiver whose relatively stocky build seems to blur the line between receiver and scatback. That’s fitting, because Burden’s game blurs that line as well. He was the focus of the Missouri offense and is a savvy receiver with great field awareness, body control, and play strength. He has an uncanny ability to settle into the soft spots in zone coverage and set himself up for yards after the catch.

Burden turns into a running back as soon as the ball is in his hands, and combines excellent agility with great vision. He’s also an exceptionally sudden athlete with a powerful and explosive lower body. He’s consistently able to explode out of his cuts and breaks, and makes great use of subtle (yet explosive) moves to break defenders’ angles and ankles.

It will be fascinating to see how the NFL reacts to Burden at the NFL Scouting Combine. He lacks prototypical size, and should measure somewhere around 5-foot-11, and doesn’t appear to have great length or a massive catch radius. He also appears to be something of a “quicker than fast” athlete on tape, who generates separation through his extreme suddenness, but never seems to actually run away from defenders. This could be a scenario in which Burden is the consensus top receiver throughout the season, but we see chatter that players like McMillan or Egbuka “close the gap” following a less-than-electric Combine.

Burden will likely be compared to Deebo Samuel throughout the process, and those comparisons might be warranted. Victor Cruz might be another apt comparison for Burden, and he could have a similar impact if he lands in the right situation.

It’ll also be interesting to follow Missouri quarterback Brady Cook’s draft stock over the course of this season. There are several receivers on the list who will get extra looks due to their teams’ quarterback situations, but this could be a case where Burden brings eyes to Cook and he ascends.

[Luther Burden vs. Florida]

Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona)

McMillan is Burden’s main competition for the title of “top receiver” in the 2025 draft class. He’s a big, long wideout with good movement skills and a truly impressive catch radius. McMillan is a three-sport athlete who also played basketball as well as volleyball in high school, and that background is evident in his leaping ability. He already has a huge catch radius at 6-foot-5 with (what appear to be) long arms. He further maximizes that catch radius with some truly impressive ups as well as the body control to contort and adjust to passes placed anywhere in the same zip code as him.

McMillan isn’t a physically dominant receiver. He has a long frame, but is also somewhat lanky and won’t overpower defensive backs at the catch point. He also suffers from the same issues as many tall receivers and only has average agility. Likewise, he’s a long-striding runner who can chew up yards in the open field, but doesn’t change direction well in-stride or really explode out of his cuts. Those two factors – his relatively pedestrian play strength and limited agility – can make McMillan less effective than expected in contested catch situations. Of course, the solution to that problem is to avoid contested catches, and McMillan can really take his route running to the next level by continuing to improve his route running. If he can become a consistently precise route runner, McMillan could have a similar impact as a young A.J. Green coming out of college.

[Tetairoa McMillan vs. USC]

Emeka Egbuka (Ohio State)

Egbuka is coming into the 2024 season off of a down 2023 campaign, however he has the potential to be a high first-round pick. Egbuka struggled with an ankle injury in 2023 that ultimately needed surgery, and saw his production cut in half from the prior year. 2022, however, showcased the potential that had Egbuka rated as a 5-star recruit and even more highly sought after out of high school than Marvin Harrison Jr.

Egbuka is a remarkably versatile and well-rounded receiver. He has good size at 6-foot-1, and (roughly) 205 pounds, with good suddenness and agility, as well as enough speed to break off big plays down the field. He has the ability to win out wide as well as in the slot, and was used to attack the short and intermediate area of the field, deep, and as a ball carrier with manufactured touches.

At his best, there are few warts on Egbuka’s game: He doesn’t quite have elite athletic traits, and there are instances (usually in close quarters) when he’ll let the ball into his chest plate. Egbuka will (obviously) need a return to form in 2024 to maximize his draft stock. If he can replicate (or improve on) his 74-catch, 1,151-yard, 10-touchdown 2022 campaign, those concerns will likely be forgotten. However, teams will likely focus on his issues, as well as his health, if he can’t reach those heights again.

[Emeka Egbuka vs. Notre Dame]

Kyren Lacy (LSU)

Lacy could be primed to be one of this year’s big breakout prospects. He has been on the periphery of LSU’s passing attack over the last two seasons, and took a significant stride forward in 2023. The trick will be taking another step and capitalizing on his new status as WR1.

Lacy has a prototypical frame for an outside receiver at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, and has solid movement skills for a bigger receiver. He has relatively quick feet, solid agility and acceleration, and long speed. Lacy isn’t an elite athlete, but he has a good combination of height, weight, and athleticism. He’s able to break sharply and make good adjustments to the ball in flight, find soft spots in coverage, and generate yards after the catch. He can be used at all areas of the field and is capable as a possession option as well as down the field as a vertical threat. Lacy’s size and play strength allow him to win in contested catch situations, while his movement skills let him separate quickly.

The big question with regards to Lacy is whether he can take the next step as the top dog in the offense. He led the Tigers in yards per catch (18.6) and yards after the catch (7.1) last year. However, he won’t have Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. to draw defenses’ attention, nor will he have Jayden Daniels throwing him the ball.

[LSU offense vs. Auburn – Lacy is the LSU receiver number 2]

Isaiah Bond (Texas)

Bond spent his first two seasons at Alabama before transferring to Texas for the 2024 season. It’s fitting that Bond made his way to the Longhorns, as he’ll follow one of the (very) few collegiate receivers who was more explosive than him in Xavier Worthy.

Bond has a sprinter’s physique at 5-foot-11, 185 pounds which should be expected given his blazing speed. Bond manages to be both quick with great agility as well as effortless speed down the field. He accelerates hard and fast, with the ability to leave defensive backs in the dust. He also has a great stride tempo allowing him to add subtle fakes and jukes at the top of his routes. Alabama fed Bond with manufactured touches behind the line of scrimmage as well as down the field as a vertical threat. Defenses clearly respect the threat he posed and he was consistently able to help manipulate coverages.

Bond’s speed and agility should make him productive in Texas’ screen-based offense. However, the bigger questions will come with regard to his build and durability. Likewise, there could be questions about his route running and ball tracking if Texas uses him on a very high proportion of screen plays and few true receiving routes.

[Alabama offense vs. Georgia – Bond is the Alabama receiver number 3]

Evan Stewart (Oregon)

Stewart is undersized at 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, but is also remarkably athletic. He has the kind of quick, twitchy athleticism that can leave defenders looking foolish. He has solid speed down the field, but his short-area quickness and agility are special. Stewart already understands how to use his routes as a weapon and how to separate at will with sharp breaks after setting his defenders up. He also has good hands and ball skills, as well as some impressive competitive toughness. Stewart never seems to back down from physical coverage in close quarters, and he’s a willing blocker who works to sustain against bigger, stronger defenders.

Stewart is another player who stands to benefit from the transfer portal. He got his start at Texas A&M, playing there to modest success in 2022 and 2023, before transferring to Oregon for his 2024 campaign. Stewart’s biggest hurdle at TAMU was the inconsistent quarterback play, and he’ll be getting a significant upgrade in Dillon Gabriel.

Gabriel – another transfer portal player – considered declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft and compared favorably to the top six quarterbacks in this year’s draft. He’d be much higher on our 2025 QB watch list, if it weren’t for the fact that he’ll be an undersized (5-foot-11), and old (24 at the time of the draft) rookie. That said, he was a very good quarterback for Oklahoma and his presence could make Stewart a real breakout candidate to watch this year.

NFL teams will likely be split on Stewart as a prospect. Some could see his utility all over their offense, while others will see a shifty slot receiver. His draft stock will likely depend on the eye of the beholder and his fit with individual teams.

[Texas A&M offense vs. Auburn defense – Stewart is the TAMU receiver number 1]

Tre Harris (Mississippi)

Tre Harris could well be one of those players who seemingly comes out of nowhere and bursts onto the scene by the end of the season and into the draft process – similar to Rome Odunze a year ago. Harris transferred from Louisiana Tech to Ole Miss before the start of the 2023 season and made a fantastic first impression. He finished the year with 54 catches for 985 yards (18.2 per catch) and 8 touchdowns, and is primed for an even bigger red-shirt senior season.

Harris has prototypical size for an NFL wideout and is listed at 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, giving him a sizable frame while not having so much mass that it compromises his athleticism. Harris has good speed and acceleration, as well as the quickness and agility necessary to win with his route running or quickly uncover in close quarters. He also has plenty of play strength, which allows him to win in contested catch situations.

He isn’t a perfectly consistent receiver just yet, and there were peaks and valleys in his production over the course of the 2023 season. However, at his best, Harris has the ability to simply dominate defensive backs and take over games. He could legitimately challenge Burden and McMillan for the title of WR1 in the 2025 draft with another year in the system at Mississippi.

[Tre Harris vs. Texas A&M]

Antwane Wells Jr. (Mississippi)

Antwane Wells is going to be an absolutely fascinating player to watch this year. He’s very under the radar at the moment, but could be (another) breakout candidate. Wells Jr. transferred to Ole Miss for his junior season after playing at South Carolina the last two years (he spent two years at James Madison prior to that).

He had a productive season in 2022, racking up 68 catches for 928 yards (13.6 per catch) and 6 touchdowns. That not only led South Carolina, but was fifth in the SEC in 2022. Unfortunately, he couldn’t follow up, and struggled through an injury-plagued 2023 season that limited him to just 3 catches for 37 yards and 1 touchdown in three games.

Nicknamed “Juice”, Wells is a powerfully built receiver at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds and is a solid all-around athlete. He isn’t exactly “twitchy”, but has good enough movement skills to be a threat with the ball in his hands. Likewise, he isn’t a burner, but has enough long speed to create big plays down the field. Wells has good ball skills and is a natural “hands” catcher who extends to maximize his catch radius. He’s also able to quickly pick up and adjust to passes when the game speeds up in the red zone.

The biggest question facing Wells now is whether he can put his “lower body” injuries behind him and pick up where he left off in 2022. If so, he could be a real riser over the course of the 2024 season.

Ole Miss is going to be a popular stop on the scouting trail this year. Not only do they have a pair of receivers on the watch list, but quarterback Jaxson Dart could be among the top QB prospects in next year’s draft should he take the next step forward.

Suffice to say, they could be very fun to watch.

[South Carolina offense vs. Clemson, 2022 – Wells is the South Carolina receiver number 3]

Tory Horton (Colorado State)

Horton is an intriguing prospect from a smaller school worth keeping an eye on this year. He has a long, and somewhat lanky, frame at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, but has the ability to beat the defense in a few ways.

Most obviously, he can be a vertical threat, using long strides to threaten secondaries deep and run away from defensive backs who underestimate his speed. Horton is also pretty sudden for a longer receiver, and has a good initial burst off the line of scrimmage. He isn’t a particularly shifty receiver, but he can take defenders by surprise when he varies his route tempo, slow-playing the early stem before suddenly making his break with explosiveness.

Horton has been productive for Colorado State, hauling in 167 passes for 2,267 yards (13.6 per catch), and 16 touchdowns over the last two years. He was also remarkably consistent, with 8 touchdowns in each of 2022 and 2023, and 1,131 yards in 2022 and 1,136 yards in 2023.

Teams will likely worry about how Horton will handle the step up in competition from the Mountain West Conference to the NFL, as well as how his 190-pound frame will hold up against NFL cornerbacks. Horton will also need to show greater consistency as a technician this year. He has the ball skills to make some truly impressive grabs, but can also be prone to frustrating concentration drops on relatively routine plays.

[Colorado State offense vs. Boise State – Horton is the Colorado State receiver number 14]

Colbie Young (Georgia)

It’s always notable when a player you aren’t scouting makes you sit up and pay attention. That happened this past season when I was watching various defensive backs, and kept seeing this one wide receiver on the Miami Hurricane’s make plays. Pretty quickly, I had to stop and see who Number 4 was, and if he was draft eligible. As it turned out, that was Colbie Young, and he wouldn’t be in the 2024 NFL Draft, but instead was transferring to the University of Georgia.

Young is a big (6-foot-5, 215 pound) receiver from Binghamton, New York, yet shows solid athleticism and movement skills for a big receiver. He has enough understanding of route running to drive hard off of the line of scrimmage to force defensive backs onto their heels before breaking back toward the ball. He also knows how to use his frame to his advantage, extending to maximize an already big catch radius, as well as use his bulk to box out defenders. Young is tough to overpower at the catch point, as well as bring down in the open field. He isn’t exactly a dynamic runner with the ball – though he can eat up yardage when he opens his stride – but his size lets him fall forward to pick up yards after the catch through simple momentum.

That said, Young doesn’t have the kind of quickness and agility that players like McMillan and Harris show. He won’t carve defenses up with razor-sharp cuts or break ankles with his route running. However, he can win above the rim and has the ball skills to be a good possession receiver as well as a deep threat.

Young’s place on this list is a bit speculative on my part. However, he’s coming into a situation that’s ripe for elevating his draft stock. Not only will there be opportunities in Georgia’s offense with Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey going to the NFL, but UGA’s primary competition in Alabama could take a (slight) step back following the retirement of Nick Saban. There will also be plenty of exposure, with all eyes on the Georgia offense thanks to Carson Beck’s presence as the preseason QB1. Young could fizzle against SEC defenses (though he saw some pretty good defenses in FSU and Clemson), however if he takes a step forward, he could burst onto the scene in a very big way.

[Miami offense vs. Texas A&M – Young is the Miami receiver wearing number 4]