Texans Land Big-Name WR in Shocking Draft Prediction

With every draft, there tends to be one or two potential big-name prospects or highly-touted players heading into the night who ultimately end up being selected much lower than their initially expected projections.

Whether it be for off-the-field issues, concerns that show on tape, or other questions that may arise in the pre-draft process, an eye-catching fall down the board does tend to happen frequently amid each year's madness. During the first round later this month, things might not look too different, especially when asking a few certain experts about their draft thoughts.

The latest experts to chime in on their predictions for next month's draft were ESPN's Field Yates and Mel Kiper Jr., who put together a fresh mock draft to map out their projections for the first three rounds.

However, perhaps their most absurd selection within the extensive batch of predictions came from none other than the Houston Texans at pick 25, securing top-rated Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who some consider to be a potential top-five pick in the class.

"The wait ends for McMillan," Yates wrote in his rationale. "He's not blazing fast, but he wins with an excellent catch radius, strong hands, and very good routes. The Texans must hit receiver and offensive line hard in the draft, and I like the fit of McMillan joining Nico Collins, Christian Kirk and eventually Tank Dell (knee)."

In their prediction, McMillan falls in as the fourth-selected wide receiver off the board, behind other names like Travis Hunter, Matthew Golden, and Emeka Egbuka. It comes as a bit of a surprise considering where many scouts have the Arizona wideout evaluated in terms of this year's class of pass catchers, but if such an outcome were to transpire for Houston, it'd be hard to dislike the results.

McMillan comes off a dominant season with the Wildcats in 2024, where he finished his campaign with 84 receptions, 1,319 yards, and eight touchdowns, posing a huge threat at the NFL level as a big and physical jump-ball receiver at 6-foot-5, 212 pounds.

For the Texans, McMillan could provide an immediate impact in this offense led by C.J. Stroud. Sure, Houston doesn't manage to pick up an addition on the offensive line for their top pick, but when a talent like McMillan is up for grabs, passing on his skillset and potential ceiling as a downfield weapon could be simply too tough to pass on.

It could be wishful thinking to believe Houston will get fortunate enough to get a guy like McMillan without trading up the board, but if he's on the table, it might not be too far-fetched to see the Texans run to the podium with his name on their draft card.

The 2025 NFL Draft will get kicked off on Thursday, April 24th in Green Bay, WI.