Dawgs By Nature
Cleveland needs help at wide receiver, but would they be interested in filling the need in the first round of the draft?
The wide receiver group for the Cleveland Browns in 2024 consisted of Jerry Jeudy and not too much else.
Jeudy more than got the job done in his first season in Cleveland, easily leading the team in receptions (90), yards (1,229), and touchdowns (four). The dropoff from Jeudy was extreme enough that the next three receivers - Elijah Moore, Cedric Tillman, and Amari Cooper - combined barely exceeded Jeudy’s production with 114 receptions, 1,127 yards, and six touchdowns even though they had had 59 more targets.
Cooper was traded to the Buffalo Bills midseason, Moore is now an unrestricted free agent, and Tillman missed the final six games while dealing with a concussion, so it is not a stretch to say the Browns need to address the position group.
General manager Andrew Berry will likely not be looking at wide receivers with the second overall selection in the upcoming draft. Still, you never know how the rest of the first round will play out so it’s worth keeping tabs on some of the top prospects, starting with Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan.
Name: Tetairoa McMillan
Position: Wide receiver
Height/Weight: 6-foot-5, 212 pounds
College: Arizona Wildcats
2024 Stats: 12 games, 84 receptions, 1,319 yards, 15.7 yards per catch, 8 touchdowns, 109.9 receiving yards per game.
Career Stats: 37 games, 213 receptions, 3,423 yards, 16.1 yards per catch, 26 touchdowns, 92.5 yards per game
Relative Athletic Score: N/A. (Will update once athletic testing is performed.)
Average “Big Board” Position As of Publishing Date from Mock Draft Database: 6th overall
The Draft Network’s Grade/Round Value: Day 1 - Pro Bowl Caliber
What an Expert is Saying
Matt Miller at ESPN:
A big-play threat in the mold of Drake London or Mike Evans, McMillan has feasted on defenses throughout the season. His 109.9 yards per game ranked fifth in the nation. He has the reach and length to win on 50-50 balls but also has the acceleration to be a yards-after-catch nightmare. McMillan projects as an immediate X receiver in the pros and a problem for defenders in the red zone.
What an Expert is Saying (Bonus Round):
Kyle Crabbs at The 33rd Team:
Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan has a prototypical X-receiver skill set for the passing game. He’s physical at the catch point, long, and difficult to play through with his length and catch radius.
McMillan has the kind of hands that a quarterback will come to love. He’s effortless with how he plucks the ball away from his frame, vacuums in passes quickly, and converts into a run-after-the-catch athlete. McMillan is a successful target in all three levels of the field, too.
This boosts his outlook for immediate impact, although he does have room for growth in his release package vs. press and his route savvy to create extra separation. Teams that...
