2025 Wide Receiver and Tight End Prospects

 

Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona

McMillan is the giant of this year’s wide receiver class. He stands 6-4 and weighs 219 pounds, and he makes full use of this size on the field. He’s the best of the receivers I studied at the point of the catch, able to widen his catch radius and contort his body to make plays on the ball even when he’s covered. He isn’t truly elite in this area like some we’ve seen over the past couple years—he has weirdly short arms, and on a couple occasions I saw him misjudge deep passes in the air—but he’s good enough here to elevate him above the rest of this class.

McMillan wins so much with his pure physical profile that it can go under the radar how good he is at winning in other ways. He’s surprisingly shifty for someone as big as he is, and he utilizes that quickness as both a route-runner and with the ball in his hands. He does a good job setting up defenders before making sharp breaks on his routes, and after the catch he is one of the better receivers in this class at finding space and using his strong frame to run through tackles and create extra yards.

There are some concerns with McMillan, which is why I’d probably categorize him as just a top-ten prospect, rather than some of the truly elite top-five players we’ve seen in recent years. He is pretty good at using his hands to swat away attempts to jam him at the line of scrimmage, but later in his routes he can get caught up in physicality that prevents him from truly separating. A lack of top-end speed is a similar concern. He ran around a 4.5 forty at his pro day, which is fast enough to be successful as a receiver with his profile, but not fast enough to truly shift the way a defense has to play against him. As a deep threat he’s mostly going to win by snatching 50/50 balls out of the air. And he’s good enough at that to at least keep defenses honest, giving him the space he needs to create with his skills underneath.

 

Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan

As a receiver, Loveland’s skills are at an elite level. He is a sensational athlete, and he understands how to harness that athleticism to its full potential. He explodes off the ball with his first couple steps, and when he makes breaks on his routes he shows astonishing quickness and flexibility for someone his size. At the catch point he has the length to go outside his frame to make difficult catches as well as the strength to play through contact and win contested catches. And once he gets the ball in his hands, the same quickness and strength makes him difficult to tackle, turning him into a real weapon both down the field and underneath.

Loveland is advanced technically as a receiver too. He understands coverages and how to manipulate defenders to open space. He’s capable of moments of great explosion, but he is clever about when to deploy them, lulling defenders into a false sense of security before separating from them. Simply put, there are only a few linebackers in the NFL who would have any chance of covering him. The only real solution is to try to get physical and disrupt him on his route, but he’s typically strong enough to at least find ways to win leverage and set himself up for a contested catch opportunity.

Tight end is a tricky position to evaluate. Because the best tight ends can fundamentally transform an offense, putting defenses in impossible situations with personnel. But for this to work a tight end needs to be more than just an elite receiver. He also needs to be a weapon in the running game. This is the part that often struggles to translate from college to the NFL, and I have some concerns about Loveland there. He was used frequently as a blocker by Michigan, but the results were often underwhelming. The best he was ever able to do was use his body to shield off a play, and on occasion he wasn’t even able to manage this, overextending and whiffing entirely.

Loveland isn’t a bad blocker, and in the long run I think he can manage enough to at least keep defenses honest, to make him more than just a big, slow wide receiver. And he doesn’t have to be a great blocker, just good enough. His receiving abilities are enough to make him a top twenty player, and the upside of getting a weapon like that in an offense is worth the risk that comes with his position.

 

Travis Hunter, WR, Colorado

I’ve never scouted a player like Hunter before, so I’m not really sure what the best way to handle this is. Obviously he plays cornerback as well as receiver, and that dramatically increases his value from a draft perspective. But for the purposes of this piece, I’m pretending he is just a wide receiver. And this ranking reflects that, not the combined package of where I actually think he belongs in the draft.

As a wide receiver Hunter is a very interesting prospect. You can absolutely see the athleticism, in the way he makes cuts in space, his impressive ball skills, and his ability separate over the top when he really opens things up. But these are typically just flashes interspersed with moments of less inspiring play. He isn’t always as detailed as he needs to be on his routes, and with the ball in his hands he frequently passes up easy yards trying to dance and create a huge play that isn’t there. He has the quickness to be dangerous beating press coverage off the line, but he doesn’t have a refined release package. And when a defender gets hands on him, his slight frame is a genuine problem, as he can be completely erased from a play by physicality.

On the whole I’d say Hunter as a receiver prospect is defined largely on raw athletic potential, but there are parts of his game that are extremely well refined. He’s clever at varying the pace of his routes to set up a defender before exploding past him. And he’s great at recognizing zone coverage and finding holes to settle into, especially when a play breaks down and the quarterback is forced to improvise. You can really see the cornerback experience in how he plays receiver, his understanding of what a coverage scheme is trying to do and how to take advantage of it.

Strictly as a wide receiver, I think an upside gamble on Hunter would be worth a selection in the top twenty. He’s not a surefire star, but he has the potential to develop into one, if he focuses and really refines his craft in a way he hasn’t been able to do splitting positions to this point. Even if he doesn’t develop like that, I think he already has the skills to be an extremely good number three option who will likely grow into a solid number two with a few more years of basic repetition.

 

Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State

Egbuka excels at all the little things you’d want from a wide receiver. He’s the best route-runner in the class, with very little wasted motion and a deep understanding of coverage schemes that lets him exploit the weakest parts of a defense. He’s not just good at recognizing holes in a zone and settling into them. He is also able to use his routes to manipulate and move defenders, opening even wider spaces for him to attack.

Egbuka is also fantastic at playing the ball in the air. His hands are extremely reliable, and he is great at tracking deep passes and adjusting his body to make a play. This makes him a real threat in the red zone and the best friend of a quarterback simply trying to get rid of the ball before pressure closes in.

The knock on Egbuka is that he’s just kind of average as an athlete. He isn’t big, but he isn’t small either. He isn’t slow, but he isn’t fast. When he gets the ball in his hands, he’s able to pick up the yards that are available but doesn’t add more than that. And while he’s usually pretty good at eluding press coverage (helped by playing a lot in the slot), he can get pushed around when a defender gets hands on him. Even as a blocker, an area where he has a lot of experience and willingness, he can be overwhelmed and struggle to sustain blocks.

Egbuka profiles as a very good second option who might struggle if asked to carry the weight of a passing attack. This is the exact role he played at Ohio State, and there may be a chance he can grow into more if he’s asked to expand his responsibilities in an offense. But even if he tops out as just a reliably very good second option, the value that provides is still worth a pick in the latter half of the first round.

 

Matthew Golden, WR, Texas

Golden is sort of the exact opposite of everything I said about Egbuka, and I wouldn’t blame you if you reversed the order of these two. Golden is a much riskier selection, but he also has the potential to turn into a true number one receiver, the sort of value proposition that I again feel most comfortable with later in the first round. His best role is also probably as a second option, a vertical threat whose speed opens space for him to create with his yards-after-catch skills underneath.

Golden is a sensational athlete. He ran a 4.3 forty at the combine, and even if he doesn’t look quite that fast on the field, his speed is definitely enough to separate over the top against good cornerbacks. He has tremendous stop-start ability, which shows up more with the ball in his hands than as a route-runner, but offers potential to develop in the latter area. He wasn’t asked to run a very complex route tree at Texas, mostly just vertical routes to clear out space beneath him, and his lack of development in that area shows. At times he flashes sharp breaks to create separation. At others, he will run straight into a defender sitting in a zone in front of him, ending any hope he has of getting open.

In the long run I would bet on Golden developing into at least an average route-runner. There are bigger red flags I see, mostly in his struggles with physicality. He can get pushed around by press coverage, and he doesn’t do a lot at the point of the catch. There’s a risk he never develops into anything more than a pure deep threat, but even that has value in the NFL.

 

Luther Burden, WR, Missouri

Burden has some physical limitations that will likely prevent him from ever being more than a high-level slot receiver. He’s a little on the smaller size, and he plays like it on the field, with difficulties expanding his catch radius or playing through contact either in press coverage or at the point of the catch. He has good speed but nothing spectacular, a 4.42 forty that gives him the ability to separate over the top but doesn’t strike fear into defenders’ hearts.

The main asset Burden has is his quickness. He’s capable of making incredibly sharp breaks at full speed, and when he deploys them well he can be a nightmare to either cover or tackle. He has pretty good strength as well, and in the open field he can turn a good play into a great one. But he can just as easily turn a good play into a mediocre one, as he tries to do way too much and runs himself into trouble rather than taking what’s there.

As a route-runner he flashes ability but doesn’t show any high level technique. He makes sharp cuts, but often defenders are able to anticipate this and beat him to his spot. He’s actually at his best when he simply runs vertically. He has the speed to create separation, and his ball-tracking skills are impressive, able to contort his body to either grab the ball over his shoulder or to stop on a dime for back-shoulder throws. But again he’s at his best here working from the slot, where he has the space to get the release he needs down the field without being squeezed to the sideline.

In college Burden’s offense frequently had to scheme him touches, running him in a lot of motions to get him clear of defenders and give him an opportunity to win in space. That same plan can be successful in the NFL, but it limits the ceiling of what he can be. There’s still value in this, and it might be worth a pick at the end of the first round, though is probably better waiting until the second.

 

Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State

Warren is pretty much the opposite of everything I said about Loveland above. As a blocker he is a genuine weapon. He has the power to blow people off the ball as an in-line blocker, and enough athleticism to seal defenders off in space. He moved all over the formation at Penn State and was an effective blocker everywhere—as a tight end, as a wide receiver, as a fullback, even on the rare occasion he was asked to stay in and pass block.

As a receiver, I don’t really see that much there. He put up impressive numbers at Penn State, but that was in an offense centered around feeding him the football, against defenders he could simply overpower in a way he likely won’t be able to in the NFL. He’s a stiff athlete who doesn’t really have the ability to create separation, and even when he is able to generate some space, any defender with halfway decent athleticism can erase it before the ball arrives. At times it seems like Warren doesn’t even try to get open, just runs straight at a defender and tries to use his big frame to box them out for a contested catch. He’s good at the catch point, but not good enough to be an above-average receiving threat with just this ability.

Warren’s best attribute in the passing game actually comes once he gets the ball in his hands. He’s a very good runner, with an instinctive feel for space and the strength to power for extra yards. And this is the one place where he becomes interesting as a prospect. Because Penn State used him a lot as a wildcat quarterback, and he was genuinely very good at it. A few NFL teams have gotten in the habit of snapping the ball to their tight ends in short-yardage situations, and in most cases they just plow blindly forward and trust their massive frames to push the pile. Warren is different. He will actually read the play in front of him, wait for his blocks to set up, and even hand the ball off if the read calls for it. He isn’t a threat to throw the ball, so the value he brings here isn’t even at a Taysom Hill level. But there is some value, especially down around the goalline.

Warren has a weird profile, and I think he’ll be a solid starter, even if I don’t really see a scenario where he becomes even an average receiving threat in the NFL. The athletic tools simply aren’t there, and I don’t expect an NFL offense to build their system around getting him the ball the way they did at Penn State. He profiles as a third round pick, but the value he adds in short yardage might be enough for me to take a swing on him in the second.

2024 Mock Draft

Typically when I do mock drafts I prepare two versions: what I think will actually happen, and what would happen if I was making all the picks. This year, however, I didn’t watch enough draft prospects to put together a full first round of what would happen if I was in charge. But I think I can come up with a reasonable top 20, so I’ve included that here.

 

If I Was In Charge

1) Chicago Bears – Caleb Williams, QB, USC

2) Washington Commanders – Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU

3) New England Patriots – JJ McCarthy, QB, Michigan

4) Arizona Cardinals – Marvin Harrison Jr, WR, Ohio State

5) Los Angeles Chargers – Malik Nabers, WR, LSU

6) New York Giants – Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina

7) Tennessee Titans – Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame

8) Atlanta Falcons – Jer’Zhan Newton, DT, Illinois

9) Chicago Bears – Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA

10) New York Jets – Taliese Fuaga, OT/OG, Oregon State

11) Minnesota Vikings – Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo

12) Denver Broncos – Rome Odunze, WR, Washington

13) Las Vegas Raiders – Troy Fautanu, OT/OG, Washington

14) New Orleans Saints – Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida State

15) Indianapolis Colts – Brian Thomas, WR, LSU

16) Seattle Seahawks – Byron Murphy, DT, Texas

17) Jacksonville Jaguars – Olu Fashanu, OT/OG, Penn State

18) Cincinnati Bengals – Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia

19) Los Angeles Rams – Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama

20) Pittsburgh Steelers – Cooper DeJean, CB/S, Iowa

 

 

And now here is how I think things will actually go.

 

What Will Actually Happen

1) Chicago Bears – Caleb Williams, QB, USC

As in most years, the first overall selection has been set in stone for a couple of months now. Williams is not without flaws, but the things he can do throwing a football are extraordinarily rare, and if he can develop, the Bears may finally have a real quarterback for the first time since Sid Luckman. He’s entering a good situation as well, with a developing offensive line and a pair of quality veteran receivers (coaching is still a concern, but no situation is perfect).

 

2) Washington Commanders – Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU

This has also been the favorite at this selection for a long time, and even though there has been some buzz from the other two quarterback prospects in the past week, I’m still sticking with Daniels as the guy here. He fits what Kliff Kingsbury wants to do on offense (what he wants to do is dumb, but it still fits), and he has a safer floor than either of the two who will go below him, at the bare minimum an accurate distributor with explosive running ability.

 

3) New England Patriots – Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina

This is where things get interesting. The Patriots need a quarterback, but they also need a lot of things. And having just watched Mac Jones fail in part due to a horrendous supporting cast, they may be wary about throwing another quarterback into an even worse situation. If the right trade package comes—at a minimum three first round picks, probably even four—they could choose to slide down and try to build a better supporting environment for when they finally do get their quarterback. But I think the most likely course is to stay here and take the high upside of Maye.

 

4) Arizona Cardinals – Marvin Harrison Jr, WR, Ohio State

Arizona could trade too, but Harrison is probably too much to pass up. He is a pretty much sure thing superstar at a position they desperately need. If they choose to stay in this spot, there’s really no other pick to be made. The Cardinals already have an extra first round pick, so they’re a team that can afford to pass up on draft capital for a shot at a player who can define their roster for the next decade.

 

5) TRADE – Minnesota Vikings (from Chargers) – JJ McCarthy, QB, Michigan

I’ve never predicted a trade in a mock draft before. Trades happen, obviously, but I’ve always felt that predicting them takes away the fun of a mock draft, which is trying to slot players within the confines of the draft order. I’m making an exception this time though. Maybe it’s because I believe there’s a better than 50/50 chance someone moves up to grab the fourth quarterback. Or maybe it’s because the most likely team is my favorite, and I want to see them get that quarterback.

Either way, I think the Vikings do move into the top five, and I think the Chargers are the most likely destination. The cost for this will likely be both of Minnesota’s first round picks this year, plus some additional compensation (maybe their first next year, though that seems a bit rich.)

Whatever the cost is, they’ll pay it to get McCarthy. The Vikings are a team that is perfectly situated to support a young quarterback, and they know that if they don't get one of the top four, there isn’t really another opportunity available (this year or maybe even next year). I think their preference would be for Maye, and they will try everything they can to get high enough to select him. But McCarthy fits what they want to do as well, even if he doesn’t have the same limitless potential.

 

6) New York Giants – Malik Nabers, WR, LSU

The Giants are another team that is rumored to want a quarterback, and if one of the top four slides to this spot I could see them pulling the trigger. But I think they may be overselling it with their public comments about wanting a quarterback, potentially trying to make sure that one of the top two receivers is available when they pick. I’m not one of the people who believes Nabers is on the same level as Harrison, but he’s an explosive player with the potential to break the game open anytime he has the ball in his hands, the sort of player the Giants have been trying to find for years.

 

7) Tennessee Titans – Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame

This is a common linkage of team and player, because it just makes sense. Even after landing a solid piece in Peter Skoronski a year ago the Titans still have glaring holes on their offensive line, and if they really believe Will Levis deserves a shot, they need to give him some protection up front. Alt is the clear best lineman in this class, and I could see him going even higher than this. But if he’s here, the Titans will happily take him.

 

8) Atlanta Falcons – Dallas Turner, EDGE, Alabama

This is commonly expected to be the first defensive player off the board, though it’s pretty wide open which the Falcons will choose. They could go for one of the top cornerbacks, or take a defensive tackle as the heir apparent to Grady Jarrett, or even choose a different edge rusher than the one I have slotted here. They are even a decent candidate to slide down, as there are a handful of players on that side of the ball I could see them liking. But I think Turner’s impressive athletic testing makes him the most likely choice, even if he hasn’t shown a great deal on film.

 

9) Chicago Bears – Byron Murphy, DT, Texas

The most common position mocked to the Bears here is wide receiver, with the idea that they would pair Williams with a young talent who can grow with him. But at their core the people running the Bears still put a heavy value on defense, and they may feel that with DJ Moore and Keenan Allen they can afford to wait on what is considered a deep receiver class. I think they will try to bolster the defensive side of the ball, where they showed growth over the second half of 2023 but still lack a disruptive force on the interior.

 

10) New York Jets – Rome Odunze, WR, Washington

Odunze isn’t going to last long if the Bears pass on him. The Jets could go a number of different directions with this pick, but I feel like the offensive side of the ball is most likely, and Odunze is probably the best-case scenario in their minds. His skillset might be a bit redundant in the short-term with Mike Williams, but in the long-run he and Garrett Wilson can form a dynamic pair for whatever comes next at quarterback when the Aaron Rodgers experiment runs its course.

 

11) Los Angeles Chargers (from Minnesota) – JC Latham, OG, Alabama

The Chargers desperately need to improve their offensive line and their wide receivers, and I think they use their first pick to address the former. Jim Harbaugh has always had a bit of a run-heavy approach, and his time at Michigan only pounded that in deeper. And Latham is the best run blocker in the draft, a powerful people-mover who will struggle in pass protection if they try to keep him on the outside.

 

12) Denver Broncos – Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia

It’s easy to imagine a team falling in love with Bowers and taking him in the top ten. It’s also easy to imagine teams being wary of an undersized tight end and letting him slide into the 20s. The Broncos feel like a team that could fall in love with him though. They would love to add a quarterback, but with their limited draft capital and barren roster, a trade up is probably a stretch. So instead they’ll load up on weapons so they’re more ready for whenever they can get their hands on a real quarterback.

 

13) Las Vegas Raiders – Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo

The Raiders are another team that wants a quarterback and could look into reaching for one here, or trying to trade back in the hope they could get the same player later in the first round. If they stay put though, their best option is to just grab the best player available. Mitchell is a high upside cornerback with tremendous athletic ability, and he could be a very valuable asset in a division with two top-level quarterbacks.

 

14) New Orleans Saints – Taliese Fuaga, OT/OG, Oregon State

One of the hardest things to predict in this draft is the order in which the offensive linemen will come off the board. I feel reasonably confident that is the position the Saints are going to address, but I could see as many as five different players that could be their guy here. Fuaga seems the safest bet though, a polished player with good athleticism and positional versatility.

 

15) Indianapolis Colts – Olu Fashanu, OT/OG, Penn State

The Colts are still building everything around Anthony Richardson, and that means getting him as much help as possible. A receiving threat could be the play here, but with the way the board falls I think they’ll go for one of the linemen instead. In this case I’ll give them Fashanu, who has been sliding down boards some over the past couple months as people pick apart his game, but whose physical potential will be enough to keep him from falling too far.

 

16) Seattle Seahawks – Michael Penix, QB, Washington

Penix is probably the hardest player to forecast in the draft. It’s easy to imagine a team talking themselves into him if they can’t get one of the top four quarterbacks, and he could end up going even higher than this. Or he could slide out of the first round entirely. I think the most likely place for him is somewhere in the 20s to a team jumping up from the early second round, but Seattle is a destination that makes some sense as well. Geno Smith’s contract gets too expensive after this season, and Penix reminds me a bit of Smith stylistically, so it would be a sensible, if uninspiring, transition.

 

17) Jacksonville Jaguars – Brian Thomas, WR, LSU

The Jaguars let Calvin Ridley walk in free agency, so a receiving corps that was already holding their young quarterback back is now an even more glaring need. I could see them trying to trade up to grab Odunze, but if they stay put the best option available is Thomas. He is extremely gifted physically and will become an immediate weapon as a vertical threat, though there is plenty of risk if he can’t develop a more complete game.

 

18) Cincinnati Bengals – Troy Fautanu, OT/OG, Washington

Cincinnati has spent the past couple years reinforcing their offensive line through free agency, and they now have a pair of massive bookend tackles to help keep Joe Burrow upright. But I don’t think that will necessarily stop them from adding another piece on the interior. They could also look to add a receiver here with the possible loss of Tee Higgins coming, but I think they’d be more likely to go on the defensive side, if they don’t have a lineman like Fautanu available for them.

 

19) Los Angeles Rams – Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA

The last player the Rams selected in the first round was Jared Goff, so there are no real tendencies to study here. A quarterback isn’t out of the question, but I think the most likely course is for them to try to add to their young and unproven defense. No one can replace Aaron Donald, but Latu would at least give them someone who can threaten the quarterback. He should go higher than this, but he plays with a unique style and has some past injury issues that will likely scare teams away from his undeniable ability.

 

20) Pittsburgh Steelers – Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia

A year ago the Steelers used their first round pick on a raw but talented tackle out of Georgia. This year I think they will use the pick on an even more talented but even rawer tackle out of Georgia. Mims is massive and can move extremely well. He also only had eight career starts in college. It’s possible the Steelers could prioritize someone with more experience—Graham Barton would make sense, if they want to try to fill their hole at center as well—but the Steelers have often prioritized athletic upside in the draft, and Mims has plenty of that.

 

21) Miami Dolphins – Jer’Zhan Newton, DT, Illinois

The Dolphins lost Christian Wilkins in the offseason, and they should waste no time replacing him if they have a shot at Newton. They have some promising pieces up front on defense if they can stay healthy, and Newton would give them another dangerous pass rusher to bolster that depth and give them a shot at slowing down the dangerous quarterbacks they will have to go through in the AFC.

 

22) Philadelphia Eagles – Cooper DeJean, CB/S, Iowa

Getting younger on the offensive line would be a good move, but Philadelphia almost has to go defense with this pick after the way that unit crumbled down the stretch in 2023. DeJean is a somewhat tricky prospect who doesn't have a clearly defined role yet in the NFL, the Eagles could use help at pretty much every spot in their secondary.

 

23) Los Angeles Chargers (from Vikings) – Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas

The Chargers use their first pick on offensive line, and with their second they get a wide receiver. Most people have a couple other receivers ranked ahead of Worthy, but fast receivers always go earlier than expected in the draft, and after setting a record at the Combine in the 40 yard dash, it would be a surprise if Worthy doesn’t end up somewhere in the first round.

 

24) Dallas Cowboys – Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas

The Cowboys mostly ignored free agency, which means they now find themselves with a lot of holes needing filled. A second wide receiver across from CeeDee Lamb probably isn’t the biggest of them, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt, and Mitchell has incredibly impressive tools that will be hard to ignore.

 

25) Green Bay Packers – Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson

Death, taxes, the Packers spending a first-round pick on the defensive side of the ball. They could definitely choose to try to add more talent to their offense, but that is a unit with a lot of young players who showed promise last year, so I expect them to give them room to grow. Instead they will address their secondary, where Eric Stokes has been simply okay his first three years and Jaire Alexander seems to be slowly working his way towards the exit.

 

26) Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida State

This is a bit of a slide for Verse, but I think his somewhat limited upside will hurt him on draft night. The Buccaneers will happily take him, though. Shaq Barrett is in Miami now, and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka hasn’t shown he has what it takes to be a team’s primary pass rusher. Verse brings impressive power and a developed array of attacks, and he should be able to contribute fairly quickly for a team that is hoping to stay perched at the top of the NFC South.

 

27) Arizona Cardinals – Chop Robinson, EDGE, Penn State

The Cardinals used their first pick to add a dynamic offensive threat, so with this one I expect they’ll go defensive. They have very little talent on that side of the ball, and bringing in an explosive pass rusher will help everyone else on the unit. Robinson is small for the position, but his athletic ability is rare, and that should be enough to get him into the first round.

 

28) Buffalo Bills – Xavier Legette, WR, South Carolina

As with the offensive linemen above, there is a big cluster of receivers around this range who could go in just about any order. Legette seems like one who could really stand out from the pack, an extremely physical receiver who thrives on contested catches and running with the ball in his hands. The Bills are almost certainly going to try to add someone for Josh Allen to throw to, and the only real question is whether they are patient enough to see who will fall to them.

 

29) Detroit Lions – Darius Robinson, DT/EDGE, Missouri

Cornerback is the position that makes the most sense for the Lions, but as they showed a year ago, they don’t really care about what makes sense. Robinson is a massive athlete who can bounce to multiple spots on their defensive line, giving them even more flexibility to slide Aidan Hutchinson around and let him work attacking the interior where he’s at his best.

 

30) Baltimore Ravens – Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma

The Ravens have struggled to keep their offensive line healthy and effective for a couple of years now, and they badly need an injection of youth and athleticism. Guyton certainly has those in supply, even if he still needs to figure other things out. The Ravens have the luxury of letting a first round draft pick sit on the bench while they teach him, either to learn for a year or to come in after what feels like another inevitable Ronnie Stanley injury.

 

31) San Francisco 49ers – Graham Barton, OT/OG/OC, Duke

San Francisco put together an elite offense a season ago with a mostly mediocre offensive line. I’m not sure where exactly Barton would slide in, but he has the experience and athleticism to be an immediate contributor at several different spots. The 49ers could also use help in their secondary, but at this point in the draft Barton is a talent that they will gladly take.

 

32) Kansas City Chiefs – Ladd McConkey, WR, Georgia

We’ve spent the past few years saying that the Chiefs really needed to get some receiver help for Patrick Mahomes, and they have kept declining to do so, and it has all worked out perfectly fine. But I could see this being the year they finally bite the bullet and do it. McConkey is the sort of vertical game changer they’ve been lacking since they traded away Tyreek Hill, and he should have an easy path to becoming a major contributor.