Wide Receiver-Only 2025 NFL Mock Draft: Top 10 Rookie WR Predictions and Landing Spots

April 22, 2025

John breaks down a wide receiver-only 2025 NFL Mock Draft featuring the top wide receiver prospects of 2025. Which 10 wide receivers are the best in the class?

The wide receiver position is one of the NFL's most exciting to watch and the most important in the most popular fantasy football scoring format (1-point PPR, 4-point passing touchdown, 1QB leagues). The NFL's most exciting plays are typically long passes downfield or passes caught by receivers who gain massive yards after the catch, so it makes sense.

Wide receiver is the second-most-important single-player position on offense in that a single elite WR can transform a team's offense from bad to middling and from middling to great. Just look at Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase's rookie season if you don't believe me.

Thus, which teams pick a WR in the draft is extremely important. WR picks early in the first round, especially, have the potential to make or break teams for years to come. So, let's break down every player in a wide receiver-only 2025 NFL Mock Draft, which will highlight the first 10 players expected to be selected at the position.

10. Tory Horton, WR, Colorado State

Projected Landing Spot: Carolina Panthers (No. 74 Overall Pick)

Horton dominated in his final season at Colorado State, and he's 6-foot-2.5 and 196 pounds. He also ran a 4.41-second 40-yard dash. His route running and separation skills aren't as refined as we'd like them to be, but he has potential as a future WR2 playing on the outside in two-WR sets.

Perhaps he can develop his game and become a more complete receiver, but the athletic talent is certainly there..

Tory Horton..

+ Strong 2.46 career YPRR (Above 2.7 each of last 3 seasons, 3.45 in '24)

+ Similarly strong 25.9% career TPRR (32.1% in best season)

+ 86.9 PFF receiving grade in '23 (16th in nation)

+ Elite 9.79 RAS (6'2", 4.41 40-time)

+ 19 year-old breakout✅

+ Inside-out…

— Dataroma (@ffdataroma) March 28, 2025

His efficiency numbers were inflated by playing at a smaller school, but there is potential.

9. Tez Johnson, WR, Oregon

Projected Landing Spot: Los Angeles Chargers (No. 55 Overall Pick)

Johnson's diminutive size is the only big negative to his game. He's just 5-foot-10 and 154 pounds. He shares many similarities with Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell. Dell's rookie season had league-winning potential in fantasy football before a leg injury prematurely ended it. Johnson, on tape, looks eerily similar to Dell, with lightning-quick suddenness in his routes and after the catch.

The most important thing a wide receiver can do, other than catch the ball, is to separate. Tez Johnson is one of the draft's premier separators. His small size is a lot less important, and actually an advantage, when the defender can't even get his hands on you pic.twitter.com/PbKXeJ7MXo

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 23, 2025

But he should immediately earn a nice target share in the NFL because he's a great separator. He's also very nifty after the catch and able to make defenders miss, often setting them up to fail early with his moves and utilizing what little space he usually has to work with to pick up as many extra yards as possible.

I feel that the mental aspect of football is poorly understood. There are a million things that can go wrong every play. You want someone like Tez Johnson to not even blink. Crazy one-handed catch and IMMEDIATELY puts a move on a defender when landing. Crazy awareness. pic.twitter.com/KI8vSVzM5y

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 23, 2025

He has some other underrated positives to his game that would be better suited for a deep dive. But he could become a nice slot wideout quickly and can play outside sufficiently if needed.

8. Kyle Williams, WR, Washington State

Projected Landing Spot: Denver Broncos (No. 51 Overall Pick) 

Williams' size and athletic measurables (5-foot-11, 190 pounds, 4.40-second 40-yard dash) should intrigue NFL teams, and he's had a lot of hype building around him in recent weeks. He's a difficult evaluation to make because he wasn't asked to run a diverse route tree in the offense he operated in during college.

But a team will probably take a shot on him in the middle rounds, and he has plenty of upside if he can develop his game or if it's better than we think from the tape, due to his role in college.

Kyle Williams scoring touchdowns pic.twitter.com/JzMWGeUni3

— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) March 28, 2025

7. Jaylin Noel, WR, Iowa State

Projected Landing Spot: Arizona Cardinals (No. 47 Overall Pick) 

Teams might look at Noel and see a player very close to Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. If they do, he could jump up draft boards and be selected in the second round, which is where I expect him to land.

He should immediately be an excellent slot receiver at the next level with the chops to play out wide when necessary, and in the right landing spot, he could become a target monster and fantasy superstar quickly.

Jaylin Noel being Amon-Ra St. Brown but faster
-Runs the best zig routes in the class (second best is Jayden Higgins ironically)
-Breaks a tackle attempt square on his hip
-ACCELERATION
Noel will win leagues in 2025 if he doesn't get a horrible landing spot, I guarantee it pic.twitter.com/eaNdbpRt9A

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 24, 2025

Noel is around the same size as ARSB but significantly faster and more explosive. His route breaks are lightning quick, and he has the strength to make wild contested catches. Despite being under six feet tall, he had the highest vertical leap of any WR in the class. His straight-line speed is also excellent -- he recorded a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at the 2025 NFL Combine.

Imagine if ARSB was fast enough to make plays like this. P.S. ranking Matthew Golden above Noel is just laughable. pic.twitter.com/CB3fK57HLR

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 24, 2025

Noel should be one of the biggest steals of the entire 2025 NFL Draft. Get on your knees and pray that he goes to a team with a good quarterback.

6. Tre Harris, WR, Ole Miss

Projected Landing Spot: Dallas Cowboys (No. 44 Overall Pick)

Harris seems to be thought of more highly by NFL teams than he is by fantasy football managers. Thus, I wouldn't be surprised if he's the fourth wide receiver off the board, though he could fall a bit further. Harris delivered elite production in the SEC during his senior season, despite battling injuries and setting shattered efficiency records along the way.

Tre Harris is an elite prospect.
-Elite feel for zone coverage lets him get WIDE open
-Immediately makes sharp turn after catch to get the best angle to run away from the defender
-Perfectly placed, NASTY stiff arm levels defender
-Only brought down when DB falls on his ankles pic.twitter.com/dbWIyMiB8b

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 18, 2025

He takes a lot of criticism that I don't seem to see aimed at faster players. Typically, it seems that rhetoric around WRs is biased based on how fast they are. While Harris ran a 4.54-second 40-yard dash, he has the skills to demolish man coverage and excel against zone, though to a lesser, yet still impressive, degree compared to the elite.

"Tre Harris is slow"
Tre Harris is able to win on vertical routes consistently because he can beat DBs in too many ways. If he runs the comeback here he could easily catch it and slip the tackle attempt, so the DB bites. This is a TD if it's not an underthrow. pic.twitter.com/atIqtKbXk3

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 18, 2025

Harris's ability after the catch adds icing to the cake on top of his fantastic route running and consistent separation skills. He also rarely loses jump balls, often makes guys miss in the open field, and seems to always be stiff-arming guys away and carrying tacklers with him for extra yards. He has a nice size, at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, as well.

The problem is... yeah, he is kind of slow. His contested target rate is worrying because it indicates a struggle to separate consistently. All of the above things can be true, but he might just not have the talent to excel at the next level.

5. Jayden Higgins, WR, Iowa State

Projected Landing Spot: New England Patriots (No. 38 Overall Pick)

I wouldn't be surprised if Higgins ends up being drafted by an NFL team much higher than people anticipate. He's a pro-ready "X" prototype receiver from Day 1 in the league.

His elite blend of speed (4.47-second 40-yard dash), size (6-foot-4, 214-pound frame), and route running and separation skills will likely intrigue NFL teams. He could go as soon as the early second round or sneak in at the end of the first round, like San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall did last season.

Just throw it up and Higgins will come down with it, no problem if you're off target as long as you're in his massive catch radius. Beautiful pirouette pic.twitter.com/GNJi4TPxo7

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 23, 2025

It's hard to cram all his talents in one section here, but he's also excellent with jump balls and can make high-point passes with ease. He is great when pinned on the sideline on deep routes and has the strength to make contested catches. He's also highly underrated after the catch and has a big suite of smooth, silky moves with the ball in his hands to make defenders miss.

Higgins has plenty of power and drive in his legs to bull through tackles and pick up extra yards after contact. I think that NFL teams will review the tape and see a very good prospect.

4. Matthew Golden, WR, Texas

Projected Landing Spot: Green Bay Packers (No. 23 Overall Pick)

Golden has risen draft boards, especially after the combine, where he ran a 4.29-second 40-yard dash. He's fast, but he lacks an explosive release package; instead, he relies on shoving off the defensive back or playing against off-coverage. He doesn't have the lateral agility to consistently beat press coverage, although when he's allowed to build up speed, he becomes more dynamic.

Matthew Golden WR1 overall feels like it could be a massive blunder.

Golden has a very poor 1.85 career YPRR and 2.10 best (and last) season YPRR. His 18.8% career TPRR is dead last among notable draft prospects (28th of 28). This is very alarming efficiency.

Golden’s 75.6 PFF… https://t.co/7875fJTpnR

— Dataroma (@ffdataroma) March 7, 2025

It's not unusual to see analysts heaping selective praise on wide receivers running comeback routes and getting separation from cornerbacks who are playing the deep pass. But Golden against press-man coverage is a liability for the offense he'll be on. He is also not even a one-year wonder. When fellow Texas WR Isaiah Bond was healthy, he was the clear WR1.

Golden's release package... doesn't really exist. And his 40-yard dash time is dubious. He doesn't play with 4.29 speed on film.

3. Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri

Projected Landing Spot: Buffalo Bills (No. 30 Overall Pick)

I have a suspicion that Burden's lack of route-running skills and separation ability will be a significant issue for him at the next level. Though he's an excellent athlete, perhaps teams have realized that they shouldn't be hunting for the "next Deebo Samuel Sr." in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Burden has major work to do with his route running, which was just mediocre in college and will be a liability at the next level. He's good after the catch, but that's less important for this position.

Yards per route run if screens are removed from the data set:

Travis Hunter's rate rises from 2.58 => 2.94
Tet McMillan's rate rises from 3.00 => 3.54
Luther Burden's rate falls from 3.05 => 2.89

(2023-24 data)

I'm watching Hunter's film and noticing an unusual number of…

— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) March 31, 2025

2. Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona

Projected Landing Spot: Seattle Seahawks (No. 18 Overall Pick)

McMillan is widely regarded as the best full-time WR prospect in this draft class. I'm not so convinced, but he'll be taken in the first round at this point. Probably not nearly as high as Travis Hunter, as this is a weak overall WR class and he's not a two-way star or an elite prospect, but teams are desperate for more talent at the position.

Separation has to be maintained after it's gained. Seen Tetairoa McMillan praised for this whip route but the DB (who?) easily catches back up. DB gives up on the route but it's probably a sack in the NFL. pic.twitter.com/pSGB0zD8O7

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 19, 2025

I'm convinced he didn't test at the NFL Combine because he knew it would be extremely disappointing. A lack of speed and explosiveness is evident on tape. When he was beating up on busted coverages and inferior prospects, or when he was left uncovered, he looked pretty good, considering he's 6-foot-4. But his height was a major driving factor in the praise he received.

Everything he does is supposedly "great for his size," though many of the positive words about him were said when it was thought he was an inch taller. Not that it makes much of a difference. There are several unaddressed red flags on his tape. I don't imagine he lives up to the hype in the NFL or fantasy football without being spammed with targets.

1. Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado

Projected Landing Spot: Cleveland Browns (No. 2 Overall Pick)

Now that the New York Giants have acquired both quarterbacks, Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, it seems likely that they will select Hunter with the No. 3 overall pick... if the Cleveland Browns hadn't already indicated that they have their sights on him.

Still, anything can happen, and they may go with pass-rusher Abdul Carter if he falls to them. At any rate, it's hard to see the Heisman Trophy winner and the best overall player in the 2025 NFL Draft class not being picked off the board before any other receiver.

Travis Hunter in 1 clip.
-Improvises
-Elite body adjustment to ball trajectory
-Attacks the ball, big vertical
-Elite awareness
-Sells to the outside after the catch
-Hard jab fake to the outside, cuts back in
-Makes 3 guys miss
WR1 pic.twitter.com/XxlN0fMgR8

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 17, 2025

Hunter is a special, special athlete. The biggest question is not how talented he is but how much his new team will play him at cornerback and how much at receiver. In his first season, he's likely to play significant CB snaps as he develops his WR skills. They're still a bit raw, and there are areas of his game he needs to clean up, but the upside is massive.

One thing you notice about Travis Hunter at the receiver position is how well he transitions the tempo of his releases.

You see this tempo work with Hunter at the top of routes as well as after the catch - cornerstone trait of his offensively.

pic.twitter.com/L9um1o7tnh

— AngeloFF (@angelo_fantasy) October 27, 2024

From Year 2 onward, we're likely to see him play a majority of snaps at WR, if not from the beginning of Year 1. He's easily the best receiver prospect in this class. Make sure you draft him in dynasty. The Browns need more help on offense than they do on defense.

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