Top WR prospect Tetairoa McMillan receives bad news on his draft stock ahead of 2025 NFL combine

Tetairoa McMillan has long been touted as a top-10 pick, top-5 even, in the lead-up to the 2025 NFL Draft - a potentially potent wideout for rebuilding teams who need to give their franchise quarterbacks an offensive weapon who can immediately be prolific and productive. But if Albert Breer is to be asked, the 26-score phenom out of Arizona State is about to see his stock significantly dip come the Combine.

The insider wrote on Monday:

"The more teams have dug into super-sized Arizona prospect Tetairoa McMillan, the more he seems to have slipped, going from a sure-fire top-10 guy into probably the middle of the first round."

His guest, NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah, had a more optimistic take - singling out Emeka Egbula and Matthew Golden as potential standouts from the 20s range:

“I love both those guys. I think they’re both pros, super polished. In a draft that maybe doesn’t have the star power, I’m leaning into the guys that come in with no operating instructions. They’re easy… super high character, super smart, productive.”

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Might Tetairoa McMillan join Cardinals in 2025 NFL Draft?

Until recently, the most viable destination for Tetairoa McMillan had been the New England Patriots - a team with a burgeoning young quarterback in Drake Maye who had to contend with one of the weakest receiving rooms in the league. But in a recent mock draft, A to Z Sports' Jon Helmkamp has him staying in Arizona to join the Cardinals and bolster their passing attack:

"Do the Cardinals truly need McMillan? Not really, but you can't ignore the insane value and the upside of pairing McMillan and Marvin Harrison Jr. together. Good luck defending that."

His colleague Destin Adams adds:

"He makes 50-50 balls feel more like 70-30... Giving (Harrison) a partner like McMillan can take some of the pressure off his plate and force the defense to give both respected attention on any given pass play."

Later in the second round, he has the franchise drafting Jack Sawyer, Ohio State's 23-sack phenom, to bolster a pass-rushing unit that finished midpack in 2024 at 41 sacks, was within the bottom five in percentage of completions allowed (68.6) and bottom ten in yards allowed per attempt (7.3), and faces free agency departures from Victor Dimukeje and Baron Browning.