- Travis Hunter’s Hands: Two-way superstar Travis Hunter has elite hands and ball skills that certainly play up on the offensive side of the ball.
- Xavier Restrepo’s routes: Miami’s Xavier Restrepo isn’t blessed with elite traits, but he’s a terror in the slot due to his elite route running.
- 2025 NFL Draft season is here: Try PFF's best-in-class Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2025's top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
As we head into the home stretch of the 2025 NFL Draft season, it’s time to stack some of these prospects up against one another with some superlatives.
Here, we look at standout traits and styles from the top wide receivers.
Best Long Speed: Dont'e Thornton Jr., Tennessee
Between the big play ability he’s shown at Oregon and Tennessee along with his 4.30-second 40-yard dash time at the combine, Thornton is a big play waiting to happen. He just hasn’t gotten the requisite volume to put up big numbers. His 25.5 yards per reception mark and 99.9 deep receiving grade led all qualified wide receivers in 2024. That level of speed in a player who stands at 6-foot-5 is sure to tantalize a team into selecting him at some point in the draft.
Best Releases: Jayden Higgins, Iowa State
Higgins’ ability to create space off the line of scrimmage is quite impressive for someone who measures in at 6-foot-4 and 214 pounds. When facing press coverage over the past two seasons, he ranks among the top two players in the class in receiving grade, receptions, yards and explosive plays. He can stutter step his way into an open slant route, create vertical and horizontal separation on go routes, and find space without getting too physical with defenders.
Best Separator: Tez Johnson, Oregon
A wide receiver who weighs in at just 154 pounds better be able to separate at an elite level. Johnson did just that as he terrorized defenders in the slot while at Troy and Oregon. He sits in the 100th percentile among wide receivers over the past two seasons with a 92.8% open target rate. That includes a 97th percentile mark at 77.3% versus single coverage in that same timeframe. Johnson separated from defensive backs constantly in games. He twisted defenders in knots at the Senior Bowl. Despite his size, he will still get a chance to prove he can get open at the NFL level.
Best Route Runner: Xavier Restrepo
Given a similar build and skill set to Julian Edelman, Restrepo isn’t blessed with elite size or speed, but he always finds his way open. His savvy, route stems, and ability to stay in a defender’s blind spot stand out as his greatest assets. Over the past three seasons, Restrepo owns a perfect 99.9 receiving grade against single coverage. He ranked 13th in the FBS with an 87.6 receiving grade versus man coverage in 2024 as well.
Best Hands: Travis Hunter, Colorado
Hunter’s ball skills on both sides of the ball are outstanding, as displayed by his minuscule 1.8% drop rate over the past two seasons. He’s also never dropped a pass on a contested target nor on a target of 10 or more yards during his three collegiate seasons. Of all the incredible things Hunter can do on the football field, his ability to snatch it out of the air may be his greatest asset.
Best at Contested Catches: Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
McMillan uses every bit of his 6-foot-5 frame and outstanding hands to make acrobatic contested catches look routine. His 35 contested catches over the past two years are the most in the FBS while he’s maintained a solid 54.7% catch rate in such situations. McMillan’s 16 explosive plays on contested targets also lead the nation in that same timeframe, further demonstrating his ability to win downfield in these situations.
Best Blocker: Da’Quan Felton, Virginia Tech
Felton’s 6-foot-5, 213-pound frame combined with Virginia Tech’s run-heavy offense gave him ample opportunity to shine as a blocker. His 79.7 run-blocking grade over the past two seasons is the best in the class. There’s a variety of stalk blocks, cutoff blocks, and crackback blocks that he’s succeeded at executing while at Virginia Tech, particularly from condensed alignments.
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