Standout WR named Bills' 'prospect to watch' ahead of 2025 NFL Draft

The Buffalo Bills parted ways with 107 receptions and 1,183 yards in the 2024 offseason when they traded perennial Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans in exchange for a second-round pick in next year’s NFL Draft. The departure of the franchise’s fourth-all-time leading wideout leaves the team’s receiving corps with a glaring question mark atop its depth chart, a point that’s only emboldened by the simultaneous spring departure of complementary offensive contributor Gabriel Davis.

Buffalo plans to take an egalitarian approach to aerial production given the omissions, something it figures it can manage thanks to the talent of those in the reworked receivers' room and the otherworldly nature of quarterback Josh Allen. Third-year wideout Khalil Shakir, free agent signee Curtis Samuel, and rookie Keon Coleman project to lead the way at receiver while second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid will be an oft-used body over the middle of the field; veterans Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Mack Hollins, and (tight end) Dawson Knox could scrape the bulk of the remaining production.

The Bills employ talented pass catchers, but they’re unproven, with the wide receivers being viewed, by many, as the team’s biggest question mark entering the new campaign. Given the untried nature of the group and the assets Buffalo acquired in the offseason (trading Diggs secured long-term salary cap flexibility and gave it an asset with which to trade up in the 2025 draft, should it desire), some believe that the Bills may pursue a premier pass-catcher in the 2025 offseason through either free agency or the draft.

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Pro Football Focus writer Trevor Sikkema is in this camp, feeling as though Buffalo may bring in Allen’s next favorite target in next year’s draft. In a recent article circling one draft-eligible offensive player that every team should keep an eye on throughout the 2024 college football season, the analyst identified Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan as a player of interest for the Bills.

“The Bills bid adieu to Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis this offseason, leaving their wide receiver room without a true difference-making WR1,” Sikkema wrote. “They selected Keon Coleman in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and perhaps he could step into that role, but the team will likely be on the hunt for a top-tier receiver next offseason regardless. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound McMillan looks like a rare breed when he’s on a football field. His best play brings out shades of Mike Evans.”

If you haven’t yet heard of McMillan, get ready, because you’ll be hearing his name a lot throughout the fall. He’s one of the best wide receivers in the country, his combination of size, speed, and route-running ability making him a uniquely dominant wide receiver whom cornerbacks around the country often have difficulty containing. He’s coming off a 2023 campaign in which he caught 90 passes for 1,402 yards and 10 touchdowns, earning second-team All-Pac-12 honors.

He can play both out wide and in the slot, but given his 6-foot-5 frame, NFL teams likely view him as a prototypical outside X receiver. Buffalo hopes that Coleman can evolve into this role as a rookie, but several draft prognosticators felt as though he was best suited to play as a “big slot” at the professional level; if the Bills ultimately deem this to be true, they could be in the market for a player like McMillan next offseason.

If Coleman and the rest of the team’s pass catchers allow the team to continue to generate aerial production, however, Buffalo may not feel pressured to acquire a marquee wide receiver next spring. Regardless, the team would likely have to formulate a significant trade-up should it wish to bring in McMillan in next year’s draft—already viewed as one of the event’s best prospects, he’s often been projected as a top-10-or-15 selection in early mock drafts. 

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