JACKSONVILLE – This is a different year for receivers.
That doesn't mean a team can't find a wide receiver in the 2025 NFL Draft. It does mean the position perhaps isn't as star-studded at the top or as deep through the later rounds as usual.
Good receivers are available. They just might be harder to find.
"It's not the wide receiver position it has been," ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said.
While multiple receivers are projected as first-round players, and while there is talent throughout the draft, ESPN NFL Draft analyst Jordan Reid said the Top 10 selections could pass without a wide receiver being selected.
"There really isn't that marquee guy," Reid said.
That's a contrast to recent seasons, with three receivers selected in the Top 10 and seven in Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft. The Arizona Cardinals selected Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. No. 4 overall in '24 and at least one wide receiver has been selected in the Top 10 of three of the past four drafts.
Tetairoa McMillan of Arizona is widely projected as the '25 draft's top receiver and has been mocked as early as No. 4 overall. Matthew Golden of Texas, Emeka Egbuka of Ohio State and Luther Burden generally have been projected as mid-to-late-first-round selections.
"It's not the same as past seasons," NFL and Jaguars Media draft analyst Bucky Brooks said. "It's not like the superstars at the top but there are really good players. There are some plug-and-starters that will have success.
"I don't know if you have the impact from the position that you've seen in other classes but it's still pretty good."