With college football kicking off, I decided to visit one of the most important debates ahead of this 2025 dynasty rookie class. Who will end up as the 2025 dynasty rookie WR1? The main argument is between Tetairoa McMillan and Luther Burden, but there’s also been more hype about Travis Hunter playing receiver in the NFL. Below, I’ll rank these players one through three and give my analysis on who I believe is the 2025 WR1.
3. Travis Hunter
With Travis Hunter, we still have no idea if he’ll even come into the NFL as a wide receiver. Even though I didn’t think it was a strong possibility, after seeing the contracts these receivers are getting, it would make sense. There’s significantly more money to be made for Hunter on the offensive side of the ball. If he does commit, he has the upside of being the WR1 in this class, even though it’s not as likely.
With Hunter after watching him play in week one I was amazed. The combination of his tracking and hands are unbelievable and it seems like he comes down with everything. He’s very smooth in how he runs his routes and he can hit that next gear with ease. At 6’1” 185 lbs, Hunter doesn’t really struggle with press as he’s learned a creative package of releases.
The main knock you have against Hunter is that his size definitely isn’t prototypical for a receiver. Even though Hunter has quite a few releases in his bag, he needs to work on making them more consistent. If Hunter dedicates his time to being a receiver, I wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes the best one in the bunch. Right now, though, that’s a massive if.
2. Luther Burden
Luther Burden is one of the more exciting players in college football right now, and there’s a great argument that he should be considered as the WR1. With Burden, I’m not against him at all; he just seems like the safer but also less rewarding pick. Burden has the opposite archetype as McMillan, standing 5’11”, 208 lbs, and playing 541/634 snaps in the slot.
Having a slot receiver that gets on the field a ton is a cheat code for fantasy football. Burden played 81.7% of his snaps in the slot last year leading to a 25.2% target share which was above Tetairoa McMillan. Looking at his college production from a fantasy perspective, he scored 15.5 PPG which was second in his class. The combination of his elite YAC ability, explosiveness and hands make him such a dominant prospect.
Where I begin to worry is that he doesn’t have the most diverse route tree. A lot of his receptions are manufactured touches, which is a worry of mine. Burden has a limited release package which explains his high slot usage. While Burden can thrive in the right situation, there are some red flags on his profile.
1. Tetairoa McMillan
Right now, it seems like Luther Burden is the consensus WR1, but I’m on the other side of this debate. In my eyes, McMillan just has slightly more upside based on his 6’5” 210 lb frame. The comps to Mike Evans have been rolling in, and I 100% see it. According to Pahowdy’s College Database, McMillan has averaged 18.1 PPG in college so far.
McMillan is unbelievable at the catch point, but more impressively, he’s a very nuanced route runner. He’s not a one-trick pony either, as he actually lined up at slot for 143/828 of his routes, which isn’t too bad for someone his size. McMillan has fantastic body control to pair with his strong hands. While McMillan isn’t the fastest player, he’s not slow either, and his routes are smooth.
The one concern you have with McMillan is his separation. It hasn’t been a problem in college but being able to separate is more translatable than contested catches. He really has to have an alpha X receiver role in the NFL but his draft capital should take of that. I expect McMillan to show out this year and secure his spot as a top 10 draft pick.
