2025 NFL Draft: Top 10 Pass Catchers

The NFL Draft steadily approaches with the first round commencing on April 24th. Some of the flashiest picks of the draft come by the way of pass-catchers. Take a look below at the top-10 prospects of the 2025 NFL draft class at wide receiver and tight end. Mock primary and secondary picks are included. 

Wide Receiver 

Tetairoa McMilan- Arizona- 6’5’/212 lbs

Tetairoa McMilan is a sturdy exterior receiver who played at least 12 games over his last three seasons at Arizona. He will fit well with a team in need of a threat on the boundaries to supplement its receivers inside. McMilan converted an impressive 18 of 30 contested catch attempts in 2024, a crucial attribute to combat NFL corners. Similar to DK Metcalf when he was drafted, McMilan needs to work on quickness at the top of routes. He showed he is effective at different depths a season ago posting 55, 37 and 31 targets on short, medium and deep routes, respectively. 

Primary Pick: Las Vegas Raiders- Round 1, Pick 6
Secondary Pick: Carolina Panthers- Round 1, Pick 8

Emeka Egbuka- Ohio State- 6’1”/ 205 lbs

Emeka Egbuka enters the draft after playing four seasons at Ohio State- the best program in the country to prepare receivers for the NFL. He eclipsed 1,000 yards twice in that stretch with 24 touchdowns. Egbuka is a bigger slot receiver but logged a quarter of his career college snaps on the outside. In both 1,000-yard campaigns, nearly half of his total yardage came after the catch. With a low drop rate (5.5%) and the ability to make plays with the ball in his hands, Egbuka will make a splash right away on the right offense. 

Primary Pick: Carolina Panthers- Round 1, Pick 8
Secondary Pick: Seattle Seahawks- Round 1, Pick 18

Matthew Golden- Texas- 6’0”/ 195 lbs 

Matthew Golden offers elite speed running a 4.29 40-yard-dash at the combine. In his junior season with the Longhorns, Golden averaged 17.0 yards per reception and slotted nine touchdowns. He is primarily a deep threat and finished 15th overall at receiver in the FBS in catches on deep routes (20+ yards) with 13. A well rounded prospect, Golden grades out well in limiting drops and fumbles.  

Primary Pick: Denver Broncos- Round 1, Pick 20
Secondary Pick: Cleveland Browns- Round 2, Pick 33

Jayden Higgins- Iowa State- 6’4”/ 215 lbs

Jayden Higgins is excellent against man coverage. Combining this with his large frame will earn him targets on an NFL offense. Higgins finished fifth in targets at receiver last year (129) across the FBS. He scored 15 touchdowns with over 2,000 receiving yards with Iowa State from 2023-2024. Higgins had a high contested catch rate (58.3%) last year while showing versatility in the types of routes he can run. He is often praised for his creativity getting open at his size. 

Primary Pick: New Orleans Saints- Round 2, Pick 40
Secondary Pick: Seattle Seahawks- Round 2, Pick 50 

Luther Burden III- Missouri- 5’11”/ 208 lbs

Luther Burden is an elusive talent. He was tied for first in forced missed tackles (30) in the FBS at receiver last season. Burden’s usage turned down significantly from 2023 to 2024- his targets dropped from 120 to 81. He converted only half of the contested catches last year than he did in the season prior. He looks to be a pure slot player at the next level with a career FBS average depth of target of 9.1 yards. 

Primary Pick: Houston Texans- Round 1, Pick 25
Secondary Pick: Detroit Lions- Round 1, Pick 28 

Elic Ayomanor- Stanford- 6’2”/ 210 lbs

Elic Ayomanor was consistently stretching the field in his two years at Stanford. He averaged nearly 15 yards per catch (14.7) and scored 12 touchdowns. Ayomanor is a pure outside receiver playing 86.2% of his snaps for the Cardinal out wide. His contested catch rate is good, but not great (48.3%). Ayomanor will need to push the trend from last season of him catching the ball on shorter routes. He was one dimensional going deep in 2023.  

Primary Pick: Denver Broncos- Round 2, Pick 51
Secondary Pick: Los Angeles Chargers- Round 2, Pick 55

Xavier Restrepo- Miami (FL)- 5’10”/ 198 lbs

Xavier Restrepo fits the ideal NFL slot profile, but flopped running his 40-yard-dash at his pro day- he clocked 4.83 seconds. Restrepo was a top weapon for Cam Ward last season catching 72.6% of his targets and scoring 11 touchdowns. Despite playing 90.5% of his snaps in 2024 from the slot, Restrepo tallied 874 yards on receptions over 10 yards. His pro value will be offense dependent, but players like Jaxon Smith-Njigba have shown you can succeed with this frame. 

Primary Pick: New Orleans Saints- Round 3, Pick 71
Secondary Pick: Houston Texans- Round 3, Pick 89

Jack Bech- TCU- 6’2”/215 lbs

Jack Bech broke out in 2024 after a slow start to his college career from 2021-2023. He ranked 12th overall at receiver in yards per catch (16.7) with over 1,000 yards and nine scores. Bech is strong at reeling in catches while defended, but the bulk of his production came all in one season. This begs the question of how his profile transitions to the NFL. He offers stability with an elite drop percentage (1.6%) and a high grade avoiding fumbles. 

Primary Pick: Carolina Panthers- Round 4, Pick 111
Secondary Pick: Los Angeles Chargers- Round 4, Pick 125

Tight End 

Tyler Warren- Penn State- 6’6”/ 261 lbs 

Tyler Warren had a huge 2024 season recording over 1,200 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Despite his monster physique, Warren has the ability to make defenders miss and run with the football. He ranked second at tight end in the FBS in yards after the catch last year (693). With his ability to move between inline, slot and wide alignments, Warren has the archetype to be a Pro Bowl tight end. He is dangerous on intermediate routes. Warren averaged nearly 19 yards per catch and scored four touchdowns on plays between 10 and 20 yards downfield last season.

Primary Pick: Indianapolis Colts- Round 1, Pick 12
Secondary Pick: Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Round 1, Pick 19 

Colston Loveland- Michigan- 6’5”/ 245 lbs

Colston Loveland will turn 21-years-old next week making his football ceiling hard to pinpoint. With 4.7 speed at his size he is difficult to cover for any defensive back. A smooth pass catcher, Loveland has potential on an NFL offense in a Mark Andrews type role that limits blocking. He played the majority of his college snaps from the slot (43.7%). Loveland does not impress with contested catches and must improve there to move the chains on Sundays.  

Primary Pick: Carolina Panthers- Round 2, Pick 57 
Secondary Pick: Washington Commanders- Round 2, Pick 61

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