Patriots Draft Profile: History Isn’t Kind To Tetairoa McMillan
The New England Patriots seemingly are making a concerted effort to add a veteran wide receiver before the 2025 NFL Draft.
Stefon Diggs and Tyler Lockett reportedly are on the club’s radar, with the former having already visited One Patriot Place. New England has been tied to other names, as well, looking to round out a free-agent class primarily made up of defenders to this point.
It’s a good thing they’ve decided to go this way, too.
Tetairoa McMillan is widely regarded as the top wide receiver (only) prospect in the upcoming draft. We just don’t see him being in the category of recent top-of-draft wideouts like Marvin Harrison Jr. or Drake London — because, well, let us explain.
OVERVIEW
McMillan is a record-setting player, which is important context since we’re going to advocate teams stay far, far away from him.
Arizona featured him from the moment he stepped on campus, watching him rack up 214 catches, 3,422 yards and 26 touchdowns across three seasons. McMillan didn’t come out of nowhere, either, as the former five-star recruit spurned the likes of Oregon, Texas and Penn State to follow his childhood friend and quarterback Noah Fifita.
We like the story. We like the production. We just can’t seem to shake the fact that history doesn’t care about any of those things — but more on that later.
NFL SCOUTING COMBINE
McMillan didn’t test at the combine, which led to some odd reporting out of his pro day. Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz initially reported that he ran a 4.48 in the 40, though it was almost immediately refuted after The Athletic’s Dane Brugler reported that he actually ran a 4.55.
It’s probably a safe bet to believe the worst number coming from a more reputable source.
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 219lbs
Hand: 10″
Arm: 31 1/2″
STRENGTHS
McMillan didn’t put together gaudy numbers by accident, as he displayed some of the best hands in all of college football over the last two seasons. The Wildcats used his size and body control to their advantage, making him the premier red-zone target in the Big 12 — usually getting that far because of his route creativity in the middle of the field.
It’s pretty unsurprising watching his tape.
WEAKNESSES
Can you guess what the weaknesses are?
McMillan feasted on contested catches in college, and that simply won’t fly at the next level. We also noticed an… inconsistency… in his routes, with his intermediate and deep targets often being an adventure.
McMillan simply doesn’t stick out in any way you’d hope him to.
WHAT ABOUT THAT “HISTORY” YOU KEEP TALKING ABOUT?
The NFL hasn’t been kind to tall, skinny wide receivers like McMillan.
Randy Moss is the only success story over the last three decades who entered the league standing at least 6-foot-4 and weighing under 215 pounds, and he’s the most gifted player we’ve ever seen at the position. CBS Sports’ Ben Fennell pointed this out on X, noting that taller wide receivers have a bigger strike zone for defensive backs and aren’t as fluid when breaking down at the top of routes.
Mike Evans, Calvin Johnson, Brandon Marshall, Vincent Jackson and Marques Colston are/were great players, but they had significant weight advantages over defensive backs, which is something you won’t find for McMillan. It’s easy to see the production and stature and assume that things will work out for the 21-year-old, but we wouldn’t be willing to make that bet.
The Patriots shouldn’t be, either.
If you’d like more individual profiles, check out our full series on NESN.com.