Ideal Landing Spots in the 2025 NFL Draft: Wide Receiver/Tight End

The time has come. It is officially NFL Draft week. All this speculation finally comes to fruition, and we get what I care most about, outcomes. Ranks will be adjusted, wide receiver and tight end rooms will be shaken, and we will have the answers we are looking for going into the 2025 fantasy football season.

The WR class itself is deep but lacks top-end talent. This is a great year for NFL teams to be looking for their WR2 rather than their WR1. As I have said before, I don’t expect there to be many slate breakers and game-changers in this wide receiver class; there are plenty of rookie wide receivers who can come in and contribute right off the bat. 

At tight end, two names at the top will immediately vie for playing time and take over as the starter, regardless of the team. 

(Check out our ideal landing spots in the draft for the running backs.)

Ideal Landing Spots in the NFL Draft: Wide Receiver

Tetaiora McMillan, Arizona

Ideal Fit: Los Angeles Chargers (22nd overall)

Tet has been my clear WR1 in this class for a while, and one of the two wide receivers in this class who are a lock for the first round. He has incredible football instincts and continuously made plays for his quarterback at the collegiate level. No one checks as many boxes for me as McMillan does, even Travis Hunter. 

The Chargers would likely have to trade up, or there would be a significant slide for him to land here; however, we are talking about ideal spots, not most likely. Pairing McMillan with second-year phenom Ladd McConkey would send this offense to the moon and give Justin Herbert an extremely strong case as a top-10, even top-eight quarterback going into the 2025 season. 

Pairing Herbert with McMillan just makes too much sense. Herbert thrives throwing over the middle, especially those deep crossers and timing routes, and that’s McMillan’s bread and butter. He’s a long, fluid mover who can create separation without needing to be twitchy, and Herbert doesn’t need you to be wide open anyway. He trusts his arm and throws guys open, and McMillan’s got that massive catch radius to make it all work. You give Herbert a 6-foot-4 target who can win in the intermediate and deep parts of the field? That’s a problem for defenses. That’s his new Keenan Allen, even though the skill sets may not be the same. 

Finally, there is a misconception that the Chargers are a run-first team. While they certainly have a physical brand of football, they were right at the league average for pass rate last year, and I could even see them throwing the ball even more if they added McMillan to the roster. I’m praying for the Chargers to trade up or for him to slide on draft night.

Travis Hunter, Colorado

Ideal Landing Spot: New England Patriots (4th overall)

This one might come as a bit of a surprise. Hunter is currently sitting at -600 to be picked second overall by the Browns, making Cleveland his most likely destination. It’s a dark horse landing spot, but one I’d consider ideal — and even somewhat likely. I would love to see Hunter in a Patriots uniform next season. 

Hunter is explosive, smooth and can create separation on his own, which lets Patriots quarterback Drake Maye actually play to his strengths. Maye has that big arm talent and isn’t afraid to push it downfield, but he needs another guy he can trust in tight coverage and on broken plays beyond Stefon Diggs.

Hunter’s got that “go make a play” energy, and that’s exactly what you want when your QB thrives off off-script throws. You drop him in with Maye, and suddenly this offense has juice. I also think the Patriots are one of the few teams that would give him significant wide receiver reps. If you are drafting Hunter for his fantasy upside, there are very few spots I prefer more than the New England Patriots. 

Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State

Ideal Landing Spot: Buffalo Bills (30th overall)

This may be conflicting, as many expect Egbuka to play in the slot — the one spot where the Bills are somewhat set, with Khalil Shakir extended. However, talented players do not need to be pigeonholed into a certain wide receiver position. Egbuka has that type of talent to succeed anywhere on the field, especially with a quarterback like Josh Allen throwing him the ball.

You’ve got a wide-open WR room with no true alpha, and Egbuka’s game complements Allen perfectly. He’s a smooth separator with strong hands, reliable across the middle, and can win from the slot or outside. He doesn’t need to be a downfield burner because Allen will get him the ball in stride and let him rack up yards after the catch. The Bills need someone dependable who can move the chains and grow into a volume role — Egbuka’s that dude. He could walk into 90-plus targets as a rookie easily.

Matthew Golden, Texas

Ideal Landing Spot: Green Bay Packers (23rd overall)

Golden is a guy many have pegged as a first-round pick but a guy I could easily see sliding into Day 2. For the sake of ideal landing spots, we’d love to see him land in the back half of the first round, as those are playoff teams that are more likely to have the table set for Matthew Golden to succeed. 

The Packers need to take a long, hard look at their wide receiver room and realize they lack an elite field stretcher. While Jayden Reed is a talented player, Golden and Reed play very different roles. Additionally, Dontayvion Wicks, Romeo Doubs and the often-injured Christian Watson have not been able to separate themselves as a clear alpha wide receiver, and it does not look like that will happen.

The Packers have committed themselves to quarterback Jordan Love. Getting Love a legit alpha wide receiver has to be in the cards sooner rather than later. Golden is fairly polished. He gets open on time. More importantly, he is QB-friendly; he made his college quarterback, Quinn Ewers, look good time and time again. 

For a young QB like Love, that’s golden (pun intended). You’re giving him a receiver who can clean up broken plays but also make the offense run smoother on schedule. Plus, Golden’s versatile — he can play inside or out, which lets Green Bay keep Reed in motion or use different style sets without tipping their hand.

He’s not a flashy WR1, but he’s a stabilizer, exactly what this offense needs at the wide receiver position. There is a legit opportunity in Green Bay for Golden to break out. 

Tre Harris, Ole Miss

Ideal Landing Spot: Seattle Seahawks (50th or 52nd overall)

I don’t see Tre Harris being selected on Day 1, so there will be numerous options for good landing spots on Day 2. Harris is clearly one of the best outside wide receivers in this class, playing a physical brand of football where he can simply win down the field. He has the strength to fight through press coverage and legit body control, making him a contested catch threat. 

DK Metcalf is gone, so Tre Harris stepping into that role makes a lot of sense. While he doesn’t come with the same size as Metcalf, he does have a similar play style. Add in the fact that Tyler Lockett is a free agent, and the Seahawks need to attack wide receiver with picks 50 or 52, even with Cooper Kupp in town now. 

He’s not quite the freak Metcalf was coming out, but he brings a lot of the same traits: big frame, long stride speed, and physicality at the catch point. Tre doesn’t win purely with athleticism like DK did, but he’s smoother as a mover and shows a bit more nuance in the intermediate game.

You’re not asking him to be Metcalf from Day 1 — you’re asking him to step into a role where he can win on the outside, keep the defense stretched, and grow over time. Having Jaxon Smith-Njigba there to take some pressure off is a huge plus as well. 

Luther Burden, Missouri

Ideal Landing Spot: Tennessee Titans (35th overall)

Burden is catching a lot of steam — I simply don’t buy it. But pairing him with a serviceable, yet aging, Calvin Ridley makes a ton of sense. The Titans are a mortal lock to select Cam Ward with their first overall pick, and if we are truly trying to give Ward his best chance to succeed out of the gate, a wide receiver at the top of the second round needs to be a priority. 

Pairing Burden with Ward is a dream scenario for both. Ward thrives on off-script plays and extending drives, and Burden is electric in that environment. He’s a twitchy, explosive slot who can turn nothing into something, which is exactly what you want alongside a creative quarterback still learning to win from the pocket. 

Burden can take the pressure off Ward as a go-to option in the short and intermediate game, someone who can rack up yards after the catch and make life easy. It’s a perfect security blanket for a rookie QB and adds legit juice to a Titans offense desperate for it.

Ideal Landing Spots in the NFL Draft: Tight End

Tyler Warren, Penn State

Ideal Landing Spot: Chicago Bears (10th overall)

The Bears are already setting up their former first overall pick, Caleb Williams, for success. They added one of the best offensive coordinators as their head coach in Ben Johnson and have been aggressively addressing their Swiss cheese offensive line this offseason. Why stop there?

Tyler Warren might be one of the sneakiest weapons they can add in this draft. On the surface, tight end doesn’t look like a glaring need for Chicago. Cole Kmet is signed, productive and a key piece of the offense. But dig a little deeper, and Warren isn’t just a nice depth piece — he will be the future TE1 in Chicago.

Warren isn’t some raw project or one-dimensional athlete. He’s a 6-foot-6 pass-catching tight end with a basketball background, excellent body control and a knack for getting open in tight spaces. He was a clear red zone threat at Penn State and projects as the kind of move-tight end who thrives in today’s NFL.

While Kmet has been solid, he’s more of a chain-mover than a matchup problem. Warren offers a different kind of juice — someone who can win down the seam, flex out wide, and actually put pressure on defenses vertically. That’s not just a complement to Kmet. That’s a potential replacement.

Colston Loveland, Michigan

Ideal Landing Spot: Indianapolis Colts (14th overall)

In my eyes, the line between Warren and Loveland is indistinguishable. These are two elite tight end prospects ready to contribute right out of the gate, a 1A and 1B in terms of rankings.

Colston Loveland to the Colts is one of the cleanest tight end fits in the entire draft. You have a developing yet freakish athlete quarterback in Anthony Richardson and an offense already built around speed and mismatches. Loveland slides in perfectly as a dynamic TE who can create separation, attack the seams, and be used all over the field. He’s not just a safety valve — he’s a legit weapon. The Colts have been famously trying to platoon the tight end position for years with zero success; the time to fix this is now. 

Indianapolis has Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs, but they still need that third guy who can command targets and stress linebackers and safeties. Loveland gives them a modern, pass-first tight end who can grow with Richardson and thrive off play-action and second-reaction plays. He’s comfortable catching in traffic, he’s got soft hands, and he moves like a big slot receiver. Having someone like Loveland to bail you out or stretch the middle of the field is absolutely huge for a quarterback like Richardson.