Tetairoa McMillan

6'5" wide receivers should not move the way that McMillan does. When a player at McMillan's size can run a crisp whip route, I take notice. McMillan can pull this off. His hips are fluid and allow him to uncover quickly at the top of his stem. Add in his footwork, and McMillan moves like a 6'1" receiver. It's incredibly impressive. McMillan has no issues separating early and late in his routes. His start/stop ability and short area burst are exceptional. Yes, you'll see some routes where McMillan has defenders muddying the catch point, but that doesn't mean that he can't separate. McMillan is an underrated route technician. He adds subtle head fakes, jab steps, pacing variations, and more to his routes. McMillan understands leverage, when to sit down versus zone, exploiting a corner's blindspot, and has multiple moments on film where he waits for a corner to flip their hips in the wrong direction before snapping off his route at the top of the stem. McMillan has excellent body control in the air to play above the rim and in the red zone. He's a catch-point bully with vice grips for hands. His catch radius is massive as he also has the flexibility to adjust to ankle biters and scoop them off his shoe laces. Over the last two seasons, McMillan secured 54.6% of his contested targets. McMillan is battle-tested against man coverage. He has the upper body strength, play strength, release package, and route prowess to get loose from man coverage. Over the last two seasons, McMillan has had the third-most and the tenth-most man coverage targets (among FBS wide receivers) while also ranking eighth and tenth in yards per route run against man coverage. McMillan can create YAC, unlike many wide receivers of his size. His combination of immediate acceleration and tackle-breaking shows up in the metrics. Last year, he ranked second in missed tackles forced and 27th in YAC.

A 6-foot-5 receiver who's topped 1,300 receiving yards in each of the last two seasons? Yes, please. Tetairoa McMillan is a classic X receiver - although he can also be a matchup nightmare as a big slot receiver. He has a planetary catch radius and good, strong hands. A smooth mover for a big receiver, McMillan has advanced route-running chops. He has a good feel for attacking zone coverage, and he's no shrinking violet when asked to go over the middle. Mike Evans comparisons are inevitable because of McMillan's height. The comp that makes more sense to me is Tee Higgins, who's 6-4. Like Higgins, McMillan comes down with more than his fair share of contested catches, but both players have much more to their games than just the ability to high-point the football.