Tetairoa McMillan: One Knock on an Otherwise Strong Game

Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (a.k.a.”T-Mac“) is an interesting prospect heading into his junior year, finishing 2023 with 90 receptions for 1,402 yards and ten touchdowns. He’s listed on the 2025 Consensus Big Board as one of the best receivers in next year’s draft. While I do believe he is a top receiver, there is one part of his game that pro teams will mull over.

Why is he one of the best receivers in the draft class?

As is a common theme with the top prospects, McMillan’s measurables are desirable to teams at the next level. At his size, McMillan is a physically imposing wide receiver. Plus, he has a large catch radius and a great ability to adjust his positioning before the catch.

Sticking with the theme, McMillan had some of the best hands in college football in 2023. He recorded a drop rate of just 2.1%, the lowest among Power Five receivers with at least 100 targets (footballscout365.com).

Rough route-running

The biggest knock on McMillan’s game is his inconsistency when creating separation from defensive backs in man coverage. Think Steelers’ wide receiver George Pickens to a lesser degree.

He can rely on his ability at the point of catch to compensate for the lack of separation. However, this can potentially lead to issues against strong corners with large frames who know how to use their hands.

This seems to be a relatively insignificant issue for now, but it will be interesting to see if this facet of his game can improve in 2024. If not, his ability to be the top option that QBs and coaches go to when the team needs to convert will have to come into question.

Jaccoma’s Bottom Line

Can he help an NFL team win? – Yes.

I believe he shows signs of becoming a top WR2 in the league as a deep-threat, contested-catch pro (which is a role I feel is somewhat underappreciated nowadays). He has that coveted “big-play” ability and will demand defense coordinators to pay attention to him when they game plan.

2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report

#4 Tetairoa McMillan 6-foot-5, 210 pounds

Philip Jaccoma Jr.’s 2024 Summer Grade: First-Round

Projected by 89.1% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of July 12, 2024 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

Game film reviewed (2023): Washington, USC, Washington State, Oregon State, UCLA, Colorado, Utah, Arizona State, and Oklahoma (Valero Alamo Bowl)

Solid speed, (4.5 40-time). Phenomenal hands and body control. Can take a hit and hold on to the ball. Deep threat; relies on his size to win short. Almost always wins 50/50 balls. Runs few routes effectively. Amazing against zone coverage. Knows when to break off his routes relative to defensive positioning. Works well in space. Difficult to tackle because of size; not particularly elusive. Encouraging use of hands off the line of scrimmage. Great general IQ and instincts at all phases. Knows what to do when a play breaks down. Trusted target by QB (Wildcat’s starting quarterback Noah Fifita and McMillan have been friends since youth football according to the NYTimes). Very rarely shows any emotion.

What to watch for during the 2024 college football season

1. Creating consistent separation from cornerbacks
2. A more diverse route tree and route concepts
3. Adding more weight to his large frame

Philip Jaccoma Jr. is a rising junior at Rutgers University, pursuing a major in Journalism and Media Studies and a minor in Sports Management. As well as being an aspiring writer and draft analyst for FirstRoundMock.com, he is a sports writer for his school’s student newspaper, The Daily Targum, and a sports broadcaster and producer for WRSU-FM, Rutgers radio. To view more of Philip’s work, follow @PJaccoma on X.