If Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan falls to the Vikings, they should recreate three-deep with Justin Jefferson

Welcome to SKOL Search 2025! This is the fifth year I have done SKOL Search with the sole mission being to find NFL Draft prospects for the Minnesota Vikings. Throughout the entire process, this will be the most comprehensive draft guide with a focus on the Vikings. Each year, I scout incoming draft prospects from […]

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
Add as preferred source on Google
Nov 15, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) catches the ball to make a touchdown during the first quarter against the Houston Cougars at Arizona Stadium.
Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

Welcome to SKOL Search 2025!

This is the fifth year I have done SKOL Search with the sole mission being to find NFL Draft prospects for the Minnesota Vikings. Throughout the entire process, this will be the most comprehensive draft guide with a focus on the Vikings.

Each year, I scout incoming draft prospects from a neutral perspective and try to see how they could fit with Minnesota. This will be general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah's fourth NFL Draft and we have a good sense of what he likes in a prospect.

Going into the offseason, the Vikings have just three official selections with a fourth likely coming with a compensatory selection in the third round. However they choose to use them, they need to make the most out of their limited resources.

Tetairoa McMillan

  • Arizona
  • Height: 6050
  • Weight: 212
  • Class: Third-year Junior
  • Recruiting info: 4-star recruit in 2022 class per 247 Sports
  • Stats: 213 receptions, 3,423 yards, 16.1 YPC, 26 touchdowns, 1 rush, 3 yards, 4-of-5 passing, 43 yards, 1 touchdown
  • Games watched: New Mexico 2024, Texas Tech 2024, Colorado 2024

Strengths

  • Catch Radius: McMillan has excellent size and wingspan. His catch radius is arguably the best of the class. He extends forward, backward, and up high. He possesses a 50% contested catch rate, which improved to 61.3% in 2024 (19-31).
  • YAC Ability: Don't get it twisted. McMillan isn't going to be a YAC machine like Luther Burden III. That being said, he's capable of picking up chunks of yards on crossing routes. Nearly 1/3 of his 1,316 yards in 2024 were after the catch with 430.
  • Size/frame: If you want to build a true basketball team in your wide receiver room, McMillian is a perfect X-receiver. He has all the size you want without completely sacrificing athleticism. While his frame is somewhat slender, it's not a hindrance, as he possesses the strength and technique to box out defenders.
  • Awareness: There are so many subtitle things that McMillan does. He works his way back to the football consistently on hitch routes and does a good job on scramble drills, adjusting to the quarterback. Was very in-sync with quarterback Noah Fifita, who was also his quarterback in high school.

Weaknesses

  • Burst/Short Area Quickness: McMillan is a traditional X-receiver that is tall with long lets. He isn't the quickest mover off the ball, nor is he super quick in space to evade defenders, including coming in and out of breaks.
  • Drops: Are drops an issue with McMillan? He has 13 in his career. However, five of them are on his first 211 targets with the final 8 on 130 targets in 2024. He displays good hands overall, but it's something worth monitoring.
  • Separation: This comes from a lack of burst/short area quickness. McMillan is a very good size-adjusted athlete, but lacks that super quick twitch to get great separation all the time. It doesn't matter a ton with his size, but it does factor in. 

Overview

TraitGrade

Hands

8.5/10

Release

8.6/10

Route Running

14.4/15

Separation

12.3/15

Contested Catches

9.4/10

Tracking

9.0/10

Body Control

9.5/10

YAC Ability

8.7/10

Agility

8.0/10

Grade

88.4/100 First Round Grade

McMillan is an excellent prospect at wide receiver. He feels like a throwback from the 1990s when having an elite X-receiver on your team was a must. What makes McMillan so interesting is all of the subtitle nuance that he brings to the table that translates to the modern game. If you want to have a player like Tee Higgins or D'Andre Hopkins, McMillan is your guy.

If the Vikings have a chance to draft McMillan, they absolutely should jump at the chance. He would complete the basketball team in that wide receiver room with your speedy route runners in Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Would trading up for McMillan be a smart move? Probably not, but having all three of them plus tight end T.J. Hockenson would be a dynamic group of players for either J.J. McCarthy or Sam Darnold to throw to next year.

Related Articles