Perhaps no position is more important in fantasy football than wide receiver is now. As the NFL has evolved the passing game has become more and more important so naturally wide receivers have as well. 

Just look at the difference in contracts between wide receiver and running back, it’s not remotely close. A lot of the best athletes are moving towards playing wide receiver at a young age because of the earning potential. 

With this it’s become rare to have an NFL Draft class that doesn’t offer several big-time contributors at the position. The 2025 wide receiver class doesn’t look quite as strong as the last few years but it's exciting, nonetheless. Today I’ll be looking at my favorite wide receiver targets in the class.

 

 

 

Tetairaoa McMillan, Arizona Wildcats

Entering the NFL Draft after his true junior season, Tetairaoa McMillan is one of the few top wide receivers who played his entire collegiate career with one team. Joining Arizona as one of the top high school prospects in the country, McMillan hit the ground running by scoring 8 touchdowns as a true freshman. 

McMillan then went on to have back-to-back highly productive years in his sophomore and junior seasons. In each of the last two years McMillan had 130 targets, at least 84 receptions, over 1,300 yards, and at least 8 touchdowns. Perhaps no player was more important than McMillan was to his team, accounting for 39% of Arizona’s receiving yards over those two years. 

McMillan is a big wide receiver at 6’4” 219 pounds and he uses his size well. McMillan creates separation at the catch point with his size, plucking the ball out of the air out of reach of his defender. He’s also surprisingly nimble and technically sound in his routes given his size. While fast for his size, McMillan isn’t a burner but it’s ok because he doesn’t need it to win. 

Dominant in the intermediate, McMillan is a bully on in-breaking routes. McMillan projects to primarily be a X wide receiver in the NFL posting up on the outside but he has experience playing in the slot as well with 22.9% of his college routes coming from that alignment. There’s no offense that McMillan can’t fit in, and the NFL is always looking for more X wide receivers who can reliably win on the outside.

There's no doubt that Tetairaoa McMillan will be drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft, it’s just a matter of when. Early in the process it seemed like he was locked into the top 10 but as time has gone on his draft projection has widened to more likely be a top 20 pick. Either way, McMillan will be the WR1 in the class for me (not counting Travis Hunter) and someone I want to target in all formats.

In dynasty rookie drafts he’ll be an easy top 5 pick and could go as high as the 1.02 based on positional need. McMillan will also be drafted aggressively in redraft leagues as the top wide receiver prospect and will be well worth it. We’ll likely see his ADP settle somewhere between rounds 4-6 which is a fine price for the upside McMillan provides. 

 

 

 

Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State Buckeyes

Emeka Egbuka entered college as one of the best high school prospects in the nation, signing with Ohio State and joining the crowded wide receiver room there. While with the Buckeyes Egbuka played next to Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison, and Jeremiah Smith yet was still able to make a name for himself. 

After waiting his turn during his freshman year, Egbuka broke out as a sophomore finishing with over 1,200 total yards and 12 total touchdowns. An injury hampered his junior year, but he bounced right back as a senior with another 1,000-yard season and 10 touchdowns. 

All this while playing next to some of the best wide receivers now in the NFL. Egbuka possesses good size for the position at 6’1” 202 pounds with solid athleticism and is a coach's dream at the position. He’s always in the right place and willing to do all the dirty work. Egbuka is at his best working out of the slot finding the soft spots in the defense or creating separation on option routes. 

He’s got reliable hands and can add a little bit after the catch. Egbuka’s knock is that he will almost certainly do all of his work in the short and intermediate areas of the field and offers very little towards working downfield. What this means is he will need a large amount of volume for him to become a top fantasy option. 

Throughout the evaluation process Emeka Egbuka has been routinely mocked in the late first round of the NFL Draft. It makes sense considering perhaps his best comparable player is his former teammate Jaxon Smith-Njigba who went in the same area of the draft. 

Like Smith-Njigba, Egbuka can become a target hog but depending on the landing spot he could do it as a rookie. Some don’t value Egbuka as highly because he’s a “safe” or “floor” pick but that’s a mistake. As a whole the fantasy community is poor at projecting what a player’s realistic ceiling is. 

Also, a player like Egbuka who is polished and ready to contribute right away is much more likely to reach his realistic ceiling than some of his contemporaries. Currently Egbuka goes at the end of round one of rookie drafts in dynasty leagues based on the marketplace. 

I would happily draft Egbuka in all my dynasty leagues at that price. In redraft leagues you can expect to need to take Egbuka within the first 80-100 picks which is a fine price as well. He also gets a bonus evaluation in Full PPR leagues where he projects even better.

 

 

 

Elic Ayomanor, Stanford Cardinal

After spending three seasons at Stanford, Elic Ayomanor enters the NFL after back-to-back solid seasons. Ayomanor led Stanford in receiving yards each of the last two seasons and scored six touchdowns in each. Ayomanor’s raw counting stats don’t look that impressive somewhat due to Stanford being a run first offense with a poor quarterback and little talent around him but some of his advanced metrics tell a better story. 

For his career Ayomanor has a solid 2.1 yards per route run and 2.3 yards per team pass attempt which is tied for second among this year's class. Ayomanor is one of the better size/speed wide receivers in the class standing 6’2” 206 pounds with a 4.44 40-yard dash and good broad/vertical jump numbers. 

Still developing as a wide receiver, Ayomanor shows natural ability to make acrobatic catches, excels in winning downfield, and can add after the catch. His issue is that he’s unrefined and still needs to tighten up the more nuanced parts of the game. Ayomanor presents lots of potential and just needs to grow into it. 

With his physical tools and high potential Elic Ayomanor has been projected to be a second-round pick in the NFL Draft, possibly early in the round. Ayomanor can contribute right away for a team by helping stretch defenses as a potent deep threat but there’s plenty of room for more. 

He could also be used on in-breaking routes like slants and digs where he can use his size and athleticism to win in the middle of the field. Once Ayomanor refines his game a bit we could see him as a classic X wide receiver bullying cornerbacks in all areas of the field. I want to be aggressive on a player like Ayomanor who offers a lot of potential for his price.

In dynasty rookie drafts I’ll start considering him early in the second round, but you may not have to pull the trigger until the middle of the round. It’s not quite as easy of a bet in redraft leagues due to him possibly needing a little time but based on current prices he’ll be a last round dart throw so it’s worth the risk to add the ceiling to your bench. 

 

 

 

Jaylin Noel, Iowa State Cyclones

As one half of the amazing wide receiver tandem for Iowa State, Jaylin Noel electrified from in the slot and out wide. Playing four years for the Cyclones, Noel got better each and every year leading to his great senior season in which he had over 1,200 yards and 8 touchdowns with an impressive 2.6 yards per route run making it two years in a row with at least 2.5 yards per route run. 

It’s also important to remember that his stats and metrics could have been even better had he not been playing next to Jayden Higgins, another impressive prospect in this class. Play style wise Noel can be compared to the tasmanian devil. He has pure unbridled athleticism backed up by his outstanding combine performance. Noel has twitch on top of twitch, able to create massive separation at times. 

His problem is that it needs to be controlled a little bit. At times, Noel is too exaggerated in his movements which actually hinders his performance. In the NFL Noel will play most of his snaps out of the slot but can play on the outside some and can threaten vertically regardless of where he lines up as long as he doesn’t have to play against press coverage.

Jaylin Noel expects to be drafted at some point on day two of the NFL Draft but his top-notch testing at the Combine gives him a better chance to be drafted in round two. Ideally Noel lands on a team with no real slot receiver to speak of so that he can step in right away. Even if he does land on a team with some wide receiver depth, Noel’s playmaking ability should get him on the field early. 

Noel can develop into an inside out slot flanker but will need to refine his game to better harness his athletic ability. Noel’s price in your upcoming dynasty rookie drafts will be heavily influenced by whether or not he gets drafted in the second round of the NFL Draft. If he does, he could go as early as the mid second round of your rookie drafts which is an aggressive price but one, I’m willing to pay. 

Anything less than that is great for us. Looking towards redraft leagues our interest will depend a lot on his landing spot as it will matter greatly towards how quickly Noel can produce. Currently Noel projects to be an end of the draft option which makes him an easy selection. If his landing spot is ideal, he could jump in price, and it will be worth the cost.

 

 

 

Jack Bech, TCU Horned Frogs

Few players have seen their draft stock rise after the college season more than the unheralded Jack Bech. Bech started his collegiate career at LSU playing next to the likes of Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas, Trey Palmer, and Kayshon Boutte, leading them all in receptions as a freshman. Bech fell behind in the pecking order as a sophomore and then transferred to TCU for his final two seasons. 

As a senior Bech put up a very good season as he finished with over 1,000 receiving yards, 9 touchdowns, and 2.4 yards per route run. Bech projects to be a solid power slot receiver in the NFL. He’s a big, tough, and sure handed wide receiver who does an excellent job of using his frame to box out defenders. 

Bech is explosive in short areas but lacks long speed which is why despite having his best college season mainly playing on the outside he projects to do most of his work in the NFL in the slot. Additionally, Bech will do all the dirty work in the running game as he is a willing and able blocker. 

His best fit in the NFL will be in a Sean McVay type offense that stays in 11 personnel most of the game and needs their slot receivers to be above average blockers. Despite having little fanfare before his senior year or even really during it, Jack Bech is expected to be drafted in the second round of the NFL Draft due to his well-rounded and polished game. 

Teams will love his ability to help in all aspects of the game. But, despite his projected draft capital, there isn’t that much excitement for Bech in the fantasy community or at least that's what the various marketplaces are telling us. When looking at dynasty rookie draft ADP Bech routinely goes at the end of the third round, sometimes falling to the fourth.

In season-long leagues he’s projecting to be a last round pick. It’s worth noting that Bech may not have the ceiling that some of his contemporaries do because of his athletic limitations but for the price of entry he’s worth it. Bech should help whatever team he lands on right away and can be a nice depth piece for our teams. 

 

 

 

Fantasy Football Rookie WRs: 2025 NFL Draft

It may not be the strongest position overall in the 2025 class but there’s plenty of wide receivers to get excited about. 

With the strength of the running back class there will be discounts a plenty. Happy drafting.