2025 NFL Draft: Battle For WR1 Heating Up

The growth of seven-on-seven leagues at young ages has led to a drastic injection of wide receivers across college football and the NFL in recent years. Every year, we see battles among college football’s elite receivers to be the first wide receiver drafted, but this year is different. Two receivers have separated themselves from the rest in the country and have been battling briefly throughout the college football season, even against each other.

Travis Hunter and Tetairoa McMillan.

They are the best receivers in the country and are coming off impressive performances in Week 9. Tetairoa had 10 catches for 202 yards and a touchdown, and Hunter had nine catches for 153 yards and two scores. With storylines across the league faltering as top quarterbacks fail to take advantage of primetime games and moments to put themselves in the spotlight, these two have forced themselves into top-10 consideration for NFL teams. They will be difficult to ignore come draft time.

McMillan started the season with a bang, going for 304 yards and four touchdowns against New Mexico. He has racked up four games with more than 130 yards throughout the season, but he scored his first touchdown since opening weekend against West Virginia.

Listed at 6-foot-5 and 212 pounds, McMillan is a tough task for most corners, particularly from a jump ball and catch point perspective. His fantastic timing and strong hands add to the size difficulty he stresses corners with, but he’s an underrated athlete and mover at 6-foot-5. When he gets the ball in his hands, he’s adept at finding space and making the first defender miss to create yards after the catch opportunities. In the Michael Pittman Jr. and Drake London mold, McMillan is a quarterback’s best friend with his catch radius, tenacity, and physicality, and he adds more after the catch.

The inconsistency in his performances this season is more about the offense he’s in and the quarterback play at Arizona. Still, there’s no question about the talent he has, which sometimes works to his detriment. The threats around him don’t scare defenses, so he gets a large amount of gravity from opposing teams—and Noah Fifita’s play this season has been as erratic as Arizona's. I’m very intrigued to see how his yards after the catch and athletic traits translate to NFL athletes, but how he creates and finds space for himself is a hugely underrated trait. 

On the other hand, Hunter is doing something we seldom see at any level of football at this level. On top of being a top-10 talent at cornerback and playing a full-time role there, he’s Colorado’s leading receiver with 757 receiving yards, setting career highs in catches (60) and touchdowns (8) after only eight games this season. His work ethic and commitment are an unquestioned part of his game, and his improvement from last year to 2024 is truly impressive.

He’s grown as a route-runner, and with his advanced understanding of cornerback movements and technique, he knows exactly how to manipulate and create separation. The tempo he shows on this route, paired with the quickness to get open, translates right into how he makes the tackler miss and get yards after the catch. He’s a great athlete on top of the nuance he’s shown this season, but the most underrated part of his game is how he can quickly identify incoming tacklers and move his body out of the brunt of hits.

He’s on the field more than any player in college football, and you wouldn’t know it by his play. He has all the makings of a true No. 1 receiver for an NFL team and has demonstrated the type of work ethic and commitment needed to refine and hone his craft as a receiver. His size, listed at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, might leave some thinking he’s too slight, but he’s one of the toughest players on the field.

The battle between these two will continue through the rest of the season and into the pre-draft process as people watch more tape and compare their combined numbers. The race is neck and neck when I watch both of these guys. Still, Hunter edges out McMillan with his all-around playmaking ability, growth as a route-runner, and electric ability after the catch. It's hard to go wrong with either player, and both will be top-10 draft picks. There is an apparent drop-off after both of these receivers, and there’s still a question of exactly where Hunter will play when he gets to the NFL. Both will have huge impacts on whichever team is drafted. 

Check out The Draft Network’s YouTube page, for in-depth breakdowns of both of these receivers. Which of these two talented players is atop your wide receiver list?