Leading up the NFL Draft, NewYorkJets.com will use NFL Draft analyst sound to "Make Your Case" why certain draft prospects would be a good fit for the team.
The Jets hold eight picks in the 2025 NFL Draft including the No. 7 overall selection. The first round will take place April 24 in Green Bay at 8 p.m. ET. Day 2 will be April 25 and Day 3 April 26.
Today's player: Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan
Background/Player Profile
McMillan has great size at 6-4, 219. He also has great nickname flexibility — Tet and T-Mac come easily to mind.
And he had three strong seasons for the Wildcats. As a freshman in 2022 he averaged 18.0 yards/catch, No. 1 in the Pac-12, then in '23 rang up 90 catches for 1,402 yards and 10 TDs, all Arizona career highs. Last season the 'Cats migrated to the Big 12 and Tet had 84 grabs for 1,319 yards, best in the conference and third in the FBS, was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award and won Polynesian College Football Player of the Year honors. For his UA career he totaled 213 catches for 3,423 yards (16.1 yards/catch) and 26 TDs.
The big decision for HC Aaron Glenn and GM Darren Mougey come draft day might come down to which offensive target they've graded higher to pair with new Jets QB Justin Fields.
"There are two players I would consider for the Jets at No. 7 on the offensive side of the ball," Pro Football Focus analyst Trevor Sikkema told *newyorkjets.com*. "[Penn State TE] Tyler Warren is one of them and Tetairoa McMillan is the other. I think the Arizona wide receiver is fantastic. It's so hard to watch him and not think of guys like Drake London, A.J. Green and Mike Evans.
"Now Evans has 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons, so I'm not saying Tet McMillan is going to do that. But the skillset combination of how he's built, the arm length, the overall size, the yards-after-catch ability, impressive hands ... I think he would be a great pairing with Garrett Wilson for a long time."
Draft watchers seem evenly divided on whether McMillan is a top-10 pick or a lower-first-rounder. But if the Jets were to drop lower in the opening round or look to use their second-round pick, No. 42 overall, they'll have other good WR options, says ESPN's Matt Miller:
"Maybe somehow Missouri's Luther Burden or Mathew Golden of Texas slips to Round 2. The more I dove into the wide receiver class, the more I like the second round."
The Fit
If McMillan is the Jets' BAA at No. 7, it looks like a nice fit. McMillan, alongside 6-0 Wilson, the possible retaining of 6-5 Allen Lazard, the FA signings of 6-3 Josh Reynolds and 6-1 Tyler Johnson, and the hoped-for second-season coming-out party for 5-11 Malachi Corley, could give the Jets a Manhattan skyline mix of speed, height and competition at WR heading into training camp.
Where McMillan Is Projected in Mock Drafts
PFF: No. 6 (LV)
CBS Sports: No. 8 (CAR)
ESPN (Field Yates): No. 12 (DAL)
NFL.com (Lance Zierlein): No. 18 overall (SEA)
The Sporting News: No. 8 (CAR)
DraftTek.com: No. 6 (LV)
Other Players in the Field
McMillan is "the draft's top full-time prospect at the position," says Garrett Powell of CBSSports.com, alluding to Colorado Heisman winner Travis Hunter, who wants to play WR and CB in the NFL and figures to go before the Jets' turn comes around. Another WR lower in the first round besides Burden and Golden is Emeka Egbuka of Ohio State. Other Round 2 options that Miller can see the Jets having interest in are one of Iowa State's "Jay-Jay" dynamic duo — 6-4 Jayden Higgins and 5-10 Jaylin Noel, while Jack Bech of TCU and Isaiah Bond of Texas are two Lone Star State wideouts to watch on Day 2.
