Mel Kiper Jr Describes Xavier Restrepo with "Natural Feel and Ability" to Excel in NFL

The NFL draft is slowly approaching, and there has been much talk about who will be the top picks. These include names like Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward, and Travis Hunter.

However, many players aren't getting the spotlight in the build-up to the draft. College Football analyst Mel Kiper has highlighted these players in his "Most Underrated" list.

One of the players is the Miami Hurricanes' wide receiver Xavier Restrepo.

In his listing, Kiper describes Restrepo as the following:

"Natural pass catcher. He just has a natural feel and ability and he wants the ball. Some guys fear [the ball], he wants the ball in clutch situations…Restrepo will be a guy right away who will make his presence felt.”

Restrepo was the standout wide receiver for the Miami Hurricanes for the previous two seasons. In this period, Restrepo caught for 2,219 yards and scored 17 touchdowns. This is a school record for total receiving yards.

Restrepo has five years of experience under his belt and has been able to develop into a top offensive weapon that any team would love to home.

Kiper would then compare Restrepo to Hunter Renshaw, a former wide receiver for the Clemson Tigers.

But Mel Kiper is not the only analyst who has been praising Restrepo for what he has done on the field. Kyle Crabbs from the 33rd team described Restrepo as the following:

"Restrepo is a football player to his core. He's tough, feisty, plays bigger than he is, and has great instincts. This isn't a receiver who will blow you away with his physical skill set, but he achieves the two most important roles for a player at his position: he gets open and catches the football."

Xavier Restrepo NFL Draft Prospects

Xavier Restrepo is likely to be a highly wanted player in the 2025 NFL Draft. But, where is he predicted to end up?

NFL Draft Buzz ranks Restrepo as the seventh-best wide receiver in the NFL Draft. This is a group of players that is led by the Arizona Wildcats' Tetairoa McMillan and the Missouri Tigers' Luther Burden.

The same site predicts that Restrepo is going to fall in the middle of the second round. If this does happen, this will make Restrepo the first wide receiver from the Miami Hurricanes to be drafted since 2020 (K.J. Osborn) and the first one to be within the first two days since 2015.