The top of the table in terms of 2025 NFL Draft WR Rankings belongs to one man: Travis Hunter. Whether he wants to play both offense and defense at the next level is not the question here, instead, it’s more about why he should play offense because of how talented he is.
The rest of the top 10 receivers in the 2025 NFL Draft are a star-studded affair as well.
2025 Draft WR Rankings, 1-10
10) Xavier Restrepo, Miami (FL)
Xavier Restrepo is far from a slot machine that some have mislabeled him as. Yes, Restrepo can get open from the slot and dominate over the middle of the field, but that’s not all that he can do.
He’s a gifted route runner and his future in the NFL is certainly as a slot threat, but he can be deployed in any number of ways. And that versatility is what’s helping rocket him up draft boards.
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Restrepo’s routes allow him to create natural separation just as his athleticism does. He has an innate ability to find the holes in coverage and exploit them. Restrepo will navigate his routes to break coverages in front of him and he’ll sit down or fight back to the ball all the same.
He isn’t the fastest, nor is he the biggest, but he plays like he is. His heart and ball skills combined make him the complete package in 11 personnel packages.
9) Ricky White, UNLV
Sure, you may look at Ricky White and say ‘well, he plays for UNLV’ to diminish his overall receiving abilities, but you’d be doing yourself a disservice. White is dominant at the point of attack and dominant at every level of the field.
And he’s done so against some of the toughest competition as well. A former Michigan State Spartan, White transferred to UNLV following the 2020 season and has feasted as a Rebel and apart of Brennan Marion’s offense.
At 6’1″ and 190 pounds with incredible top-end speed, White’s athleticism pales in comparison to his route running and his abilities to high-point the football and flash late hands.
Play him outside, play him inside, the good thing about Marion’s offense is that White comes fully equipped with a bevy of snaps at essentially every single position.
8) Jayden Higgins, Iowa State
Coming out of Eastern Kentucky and suiting up for Iowa State in 2023, Jayden Higgins was seen as a potential superstar. Somehow, a near 1,000-yard season later, he flew under the radar.
That was despite averaging 18.5 yards per catch and scoring six touchdowns for an Iowa State offense that dealt with their fair share of roadblocks. Now, in 2024, Higgins has flashed his all-around abilities and put his name firmly on the NFL Draft radar.
At 6’4″ and 215 pounds, Higgins plays every bit like his size would indicate. He’s a tailor-made X receiver, and should he find his footing at the NFL level, would immediately make his team’s receiving corps better.
He’ll stack defenders on straight-line routes or simply attack downfield with his speed, but when it comes down to it, he’ll out-muscle or out-jump anyone in his way for the ball at the catch point.
7) Evan Stewart, Oregon
The ceiling was set ridiculously high for Evan Stewart when he announced he was transferring to Oregon following the 2023 season. After battling through adversity and the coaching changes at Texas A&M, Stewart has exploded for the Ducks in 2024.
He’s averaging career-highs in every figure, most notably with his per-catch average, as he’s learned to maximize every reception. Stewart does an incredible job of extending plays and is one of the most elusive receivers after the catch in the entire country.
Though Stewart is playing more on the outside for the Ducks, it’s likely he kicks inside and can use his natural separation abilities against more favorable matchups in the NFL.
With that in mind, it’s incredibly nice to see him dominating at every level like he has so far in 2024 and from every alignment.
6) Isaiah Bond, Texas
With arguably some of the best routes in the class, Isaiah Bond has found his footing with the Texas Longhorns and amplified his draft profile in the same manner. Bond is a gifted after-the-catch receiver and has sure hands.
Bond will flash that ability after the catch at will, but also has plenty of juice before the catch with his full route tree. Make no mistake about it, Bond is a next-level slot receiver, but has plenty of skills to work all over the field.
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What separates Bond from most is his ability to win over the middle of the field. He’ll find favorable matchups and easy throwing lanes with his natural inside separation ability, giving large open throwing windows for his quarterbacks.
5) Jalen Royals, Utah State
We’ll await to see what the full verdict is on Jalen Royals’ foot injury before dropping him down any on our list because he’s just that talented. It is said that he’ll miss the rest of the season with a foot injury, but was also stated that it isn’t severe enough to impact his predraft processes.
Royals is a bonafide star on the outside for the Utah State Aggies. He is one of the most dominant receivers over the past two seasons, routinely winning every rep and making every catch thrown his way for Utah State.
Given the fact that he’s dealt with some quarterback inconsistencies, his performances have garnered him even more attention. No ball is out of reach for Royals despite standing just 6’0″ and 205 pounds, as his athleticism should rocket his draft profile even higher come next offseason.
4) Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State
It’s amazing that when you watch Ohio State, Emeka Egbuka is somewhat of an afterthought because of how good their freshman duo is. Make no mistake about it, though, Egbuka is every bit of a throttled up, YAC-threat, with a full route tree and brilliant hands.
Egbuka is a first-round talent on a team with at least three first-round draft picks at receiver, and his loyalty is unmatched in this era of college football. Dominant on a wide variety of alignments and routes, there isn’t anything Egbuka can’t do as a receiver at the collegiate and next level.
When it boils down to it, Egbuka takes a lot from his former teammates, resembling Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Chris Olave at times. He’ll run past defenders after the catch or make them look silly at the catch point.
In another era, we’re talking about Egbuka as a potential No. 1 receiver in this year’s class.
3) Luther Burden III, Missouri
Luther Burden III is one of the most physically gifted receivers in this class, period. At 5’11” and 210 pounds, Burden is a rocked-up inside threat who just simply needs the ball in his hands in order to make plays.
That’s why Missouri has schemed him open on quick slants, pop passes, wide receiver screens, and other gimmick-type plays to get him the ball. But when he’s allowed to run downfield, he’s shown plenty of route-running ability to push him into the top tier of this WR class.
Burden looks a lot like Anquan Boldin at the collegiate level, and there’s no reason that shouldn’t be a seamless transition for him at the next level. He’ll make an immediate impact and should be seen as the WR1, even if he lines up on the inside from Day 1 in the NFL.
2) Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
At times, it’s unfair to leave just a single defensive back to cover Tetairoa McMillan. Not only is McMillan a mismatch with his size, but it’s his sneaky speed and his ability to run every route on the tree that separates him from all but one player in this class.
When push comes to shove, McMillan will find his way to the open field with his routes or just simply come down with any pass thrown in his vicinity. At 6’5″ and 212 pounds, he’s going to out-muscle and out-strength any defensive back tasked with covering him.
And yet, there’s a nimbleness to his game and a sneaky, albeit lumbering speed to his game. Think of him as Mike Evans mixed with Randy Moss’ catch-point abilities and you can understand why McMillan has become such a sought-after commodity in draft circles.
1) Travis Hunter, Colorado
No non-QB makes as big of an impact as Travis Hunter. In fact, Hunter’s impact is so big that he even makes more of an impact than some starting FBS quarterbacks could on their best day.
We’ll leave Hunter’s abilities as a cornerback at the door on this one, or, well, we’ll leave them over at our 2025 NFL Draft CB Rankings once we release those. For now, let’s talk just about Hunter’s receiving abilities.
And he has plenty of those.
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There isn’t a better receiver in the 2025 class at the catch point or with Hunter’s ball skills. In fact, there may not be a better pure receiving talent than Hunter because we’ve really only seen a split-screen version of his receiving abilities at times.
When push comes to shove, few can track the ball better, even fewer with his athleticism, and perhaps no one with his heart and determination.
Barring any setback at this point, Hunter is the most complete package at the receiver position in this class, and that’s crazy to think about because we’ve seen him have to focus on both CB and WR duties during his Colorado career.
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