It's not a good year to be looking for a stud wide receiver in the NFL Draft, which is bad news for the New England Patriots.
Three wide receivers were selected in the top 10 of the 2024 NFL Draft, including Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr. at No. 4 overall to the Arizona Cardinals.
In 2025, we might not see a single wideout taken in the top 10.
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One player who has been consistently rated as the top wideout in the 2025 class is Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan. He has been projected to go as high as No. 4 in a bunch of mock drafts over the last few months, but according to The MMQB's Albert Breer, it sounds like McMillan's stock is trending downward.
"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," Breer wrote over the weekend.
"Former five-star recruit and Missouri star Luther Burden III isn’t the cleanest prospect, either. And teams aren’t licking their chops the way they have in recent years over the Day 2 talent, either."
Also in Breer's article, NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah shared two names that intrigue him among the WR class for this draft.
“There’s a little area in the receiver position I like,” Jeremiah told Breer. “It’s the [Emeka] Egbuka–Matthew Golden area—in the 20s. 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.”
The Patriots badly need a No. 1 wideout to pair with young quarterback Drake Maye. They haven't had a wide receiver tally 1,000-plus yards since Julian Edelman in 2019.
But finding this type of player with the No. 4 pick doesn't seem realistic, unless the Patriots think Colorado star and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter will play that position regularly. Most people seem to think Hunter likely will play more cornerback than wideout in the pros, though.
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Free agency and the trade market might be the best places for the Patriots to find this kind of difference-maker at wide receiver during the offseason.
If the Cincinnati Bengals re-sign (or franchise tag) Tee Higgins, then the Patriots might be left with older, less productive wideouts in free agency. Free agent wideouts Chris Godwin, Amari Cooper, Stefon Diggs and DeAndre Hopkins are all really good players, but each of them is in the second half of their primes (or later).
Acquiring a stud wideout via trade is another option, although it can be expensive and/or difficult to pull off that kind of move. The Patriots learned that last year when they failed to acquire Brandon Aiyuk.
Wide receiver is just one of many roster weaknesses for the Patriots to address in the coming weeks and months. New England has huge holes at left tackle and edge rusher, too. And given the lack of elite talent and depth at wide receiver in the 2025 draft, it makes more sense for the Patriots to prioritize other positions with their No. 4 overall pick.