WR Tet McMillan as the Saints pick at #9?

[MikeyF]

Every time I watch this I think OMG what a catch on any level!
He is 6'4 & he is about 36 inches vertical on this play & he has a 77 7/8 wingspan...
That ball is at least 12' off the ground & he goes up & gets it!

 

[Jesse Custer]

In a perfect world, I want Tet and Jack Bech. We need their mentality in the WR corps.

 

[tyler735]

If he runs a 4.4 or 4.5 at the Big 12 Pro Day, I don't think he drops to us...
But I would be ecstatic if that happens!

Don’t think you have to worry about that. It looks like he’s going the Marvin Harrison and Brock Bowers route of not doing any predraft workouts.

 

[AARPSaint]

Incredible measurables and obviously stratospheric skill set, but the reluctance to participate in preseason events does concern me a bit.

 

[MikeyF]

Incredible measurables and obviously stratospheric skill set, but the reluctance to participate in preseason events does concern me a bit.

I don't like that he is going that route but that probably works better for us drafting at 9.

 

[GeneHansen]

When I watch Tet, I see Terrell Owens.

I’d be fine with that at #9.

 

[Snakehead]

Lol like Michael Thomas?

This dude is one of the best contested catchers in the entire country including players already in the NFL. Perfect comparison is Drake London.

I’m not saying he’s going to be a “superstar” number 1 WR, but he’s going to be a very very good one or a really strong 2. Either way, it would be a good pick at 9.

Would have concerns with him playing with Carr bc Carr doesn’t and has never thrown receivers open consistently.

Pretty good read

TETAIROA MCMILLAN SCOUTING REPORT​

Standing a shade over 6-foot-4 with one of the WR class’ biggest wingspans, McMillan has a bloated catch radius and vice-grip hands to spear any balls thrown within it. McMillan is a downfield killer.

Last year, despite playing with a quarterback who lacks arm strength, McMillan posted an elite 97.2 PFF grade on passes 20+ air yards downfield. He posted a nearly identical 97.1 PFF grade on passes 10-19 yards downfield.

The former basketball and volleyball standout is very comfortable in the air, and there is no defensive back getting higher than him. McMillan’s ball adjustments are a thing of beauty, using a Gumby-like pliability to get the best of the positioning game.

McMillan forces defenders to go through his back to defend balls. He went 19-for-31 in contested situations last year—the second-most contested catches of any receiver in this draft class. He also finished No. 2 in the class in that category in 2023.

In college, opposing defensive coordinators knew they were cooked if they allowed Fifita to unload a ball downtown to McMillan in one-on-one coverage. The most ubiquitous strategy to prevent it—outside of over-the-top help, of which Tet saw plenty—was to try to mug McMillan off the line.

Refining his release package is one area McMillan can work on to improve at the next level. McMillan is a north-south player in general, and this bleeds into his releases. Off the line, his footwork is predictable, and it can lead him right into the press-corner’s hands. At the NFL level, this will be exploited more often if not corrected.

McMillan’s ball skills are out of this world. The thing that makes him so difficult to defend is the fisherman’s-net catch radius with those vice-grip hands. McMillan is dangerous in the intermediate area. Arizona didn’t manufacture him touches behind the line, but it pumped 42% of McMillan’s targets 0-9 yards downfield.

McMillan proved he could win in the quick game and collect yards after the catch. It’s next-to-impossible to defend McMillan on a slant route in man coverage if you can’t impede his progress at the line.

McMillan is an underrated runner after the catch. If the throw is accurate when he’s on the move, McMillan gracefully plucks it from the air and keeps moving without wasted motion. Especially for a tall tree, McMillan is a slippery runner. He posted 430 YAC yards in 2024, and finished No. 4 in this class with 55 first-down catches.

The biggest question with McMillan’s athletic profile is his straight-line speed. He didn’t run the 40 at the NFL Combine, and it would be no surprise if he followed in Drake London’s footsteps and bypassed athletic testing altogether this process. McMillan is a long-strider with build-up-speed. He isn’t sudden, but, when he gets moving, his giraffe steps chew up grass very quickly.

The most ubiquitous knock on McMillan is that he doesn’t create separation. I do think he needs to work on his route-running—there are downfield reps where it doesn’t appear that he’s trying to shake his man at all. In his defense, McMillan is very crafty in tight quarters downtown when the ball is on the way, creating slivers of space with his hands.

McMillan could stand to vary his tempo more often, and in general go to more lengths to tell his man a story with his routes that he can flip on them. But I do see a clever receiver against zone coverage who knows how to find the soft spot.

Over the past two years, McMillan was 74th-percentile in separation percentile, per PFF. This is where things get interesting. Against zone coverage, McMillan was charted as open on a ludicrous 94.3% of his targets.

Against man, that plummeted all the way to 53.6%. McMillan finished in the 39th-percentile in separation percentage in single-coverage man. McMillan does tend to create the small amounts of space that he needs to use his ball skills as a trump card. But it’s nonetheless true that he does not consistently create separation in man coverage.

McMillan showed more versatility in college than he’s given credit for. Over his career, McMillan played roughly three quarters of his snaps on the boundary, with one quarter in the slot. On the outside, Arizona shifted him between the “X” and “Z” roles. A creative offensive mind could have a lot of fun exploiting mismatches with him.

While McMillan didn’t athletically test in Indianapolis, he did submit to the AIQ—a cognitive test teams use in the pre-draft process. According to Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz, McMillan posted the highest AIQ score of any receiver in this year’s class.

McMillan’s game is extremely similar to London, who went No. 8 overall three years ago. I expect McMillan to go in a similar range. McMillan doesn’t project as a superstar, but he’s either going to be a steady WR1, or an exceptional WR2 in the NFL.

I listened to an interview with him where he discussed basketball and volleyball as being big helps to him for highpointing the ball. He talked about being comfortable in the air.

I was very impressed with his interview and he doesn't seem like a diva.

 

[WilliamBrees]

Are there any other WRs that could be taken perhaps? Thomas wasn't a first rounder.

I really want a big TE. A Graham/Kittle/Kelce type TE and if that's Warren, I'll take him over Teteroia. Speaking of Graham, I think he could have helped us some the previous year.

 

[tyler735]

Are there any other WRs that could be taken perhaps? Thomas wasn't a first rounder.

Tre Harris and Jayden Higgins are 2 that really intrigue me if available on day 2 as bigger body WR’s. I also really like Jalen Royals. Not as tall as the other 2 I mentioned, but is plenty big enough to be a difference maker at WR for us. He might just be the best YAC WR in this draft class.

I really want a big TE. A Graham/Kittle/Kelce type TE and if that's Warren, I'll take him over Teteroia. Speaking of Graham, I think he could have helped us some the previous year.

Plenty of TE talent if we were to miss out on Warren. Loveland, Fannin, and Arroyo all look to be very skilled receiving threats at TE.

 

[Joodas Avila]

Don’t think you have to worry about that. It looks like he’s going the Marvin Harrison and Brock Bowers route of not doing any predraft workouts.

Good for TMac! Evaluate him on his film, cause the film is the TRUTH. To this day, people still buy way too much into the underwear olympics. TMac’s film is elite. To me, he’s a more athletic version of Mike-T. TMac has the ability to make his QBs look better than they are, ask Noah Fifita. In other words, TMac’s insane hands, catch radius & route running are exactly what Carr needs. Plus, having a true WR1 already in house will be a godsend for our future QB1. Draft the weapons & OL this year, find our QB in 26 or 27, & have that dude hit the ground running.

 

[Quiet Storm]

He's the guy I want..we can't be trotting out Olave as our number 1, we need a bigger WR to go over the middle. Jeanty would be nice but Miller has played well when given the chance.

 

[WilliamBrees]

I looked into the top five WRs and it does appear to be a dropoff after Tet. Some things were okay with Luther Burden but he was not so crisp.

 

[WilliamBrees]

Tre Harris and Jayden Higgins are 2 that really intrigue me if available on day 2 as bigger body WR’s. I also really like Jalen Royals. Not as tall as the other 2 I mentioned, but is plenty big enough to be a difference maker at WR for us. He might just be the best YAC WR in this draft class.

Plenty of TE talent if we were to miss out on Warren. Loveland, Fannin, and Arroyo all look to be very skilled receiving threats at TE.

I looked into Warren and think he offers more than Tet. I'll look into the others later.

That said, I was looking into something with Moreau. Probably because I was in and out then, I didn't know he was fighting HL in 22.

Moreau has the tools to be even better. He's big, has leadership, but something isn't materializing.

 

[WilliamBrees]

I listened to an interview with him where he discussed basketball and volleyball as being big helps to him for highpointing the ball. He talked about being comfortable in the air.

I was very impressed with his interview and he doesn't seem like a diva.

Thing is. NFL money...