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John Johnson breaks down the ideal landing spots for the top-6 rookie wide receiver prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft. What are the best teams for their 2025 fantasy football value?
Wide receiver landing spots are the most important thing for rookie wide receivers in dynasty fantasy football in the early parts of their careers. While players don't always need to land on the best teams to have productive seasons, being on a good offense unlocks their scoring potential.
Each year, the majority of the top receivers are those who are on some of the NFL's best offenses. 2024 was a strange season because of all the injuries at the position, but players like wide receivers Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, and Amon-Ra St. Brown have much higher ceilings due to being on good offenses.
It's not always easy to predict which teams will have good passing games. While some are obvious, others are much murkier, due to question marks at the quarterback position and on the offensive coaching staff, among other things. Regardless, let's break down the top landing spots for the six best wide receiver prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft.
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Travis Hunter - New England Patriots
This is pretty much a no-brainer. While recent developments have made it seem more likely that Hunter won't be available at pick No. 4, if he were to go to the Pats, he would immediately become their WR1.
They recently signed wide receiver Stefon Diggs, but that's not a deal-breaker for Hunter's value. Diggs is 31 and will turn 32 in late November, and he tore his ACL in 2024. He'll likely miss some time and not be 100 percent for the whole year, whatever his 100 percent is.
Travis Hunter in 1 clip.
-Improvises
-Elite body adjustment to ball trajectory
-Attacks the ball, big vertical
-Elite awareness
-Sells to the outside after the catch
-Hard jab fake to the outside, cuts back in
-Makes 3 guys miss
WR1 pic.twitter.com/XxlN0fMgR8— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 17, 2025
There's a verifiable amount of evidence out there that Hunter is an elite WR prospect. And if he goes to the Patriots, who already have both cornerbacks Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis III to hold down the fort in the secondary, it's likely we will immediately see Hunter play the majority of his snaps at WR. That's what teams should want for him, anyway.
And the money proposition is important. Hunter still insists he wants to play on both sides of the ball, but if he's forced to choose between wide receiver and cornerback, it would be foolish of him to sacrifice nearly $10 million per year to stick at CB. WR is just a more important position in football. It's not hard to see when you think about it.
Let's say a team has an elite cornerback. What can the opposing offense do? The first thing is to just not throw the ball in that player's direction. Is that possible? Sure. Move your WRs around the formation and target them differently. Now, flip the scenario. Can a defense just not worry about the ball not being thrown to an elite wide receiver? No. Good luck.
In honor of 9-1 day, here’s JaMarr Chase going for 266 yards and 3 TDs against the Chiefs his rookie year. pic.twitter.com/9wWvplyccv
— The Nati King (@thenatiking) September 1, 2024
Now, look at the impact an elite first-year receiver can have on his team's offense. Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase is a great example of this. Hunter would immediately elevate New England's offense, and statistical measures that attempt to account for poor offensive line and wide receiver play have indicated that quarterback Drake Maye is pretty good.
Hunter would immediately become a fantastic pick in the first round of dynasty fantasy football rookie drafts if he were selected by the Patriots. Reactions would be more tepid if he went to the Cleveland Browns or New York Giants.
Jaylin Noel - Washington Commanders
Yes, former Iowa State wide receiver Jaylin Noel is my WR2. He has shades of Amon-Ra St. Brown, and while he is a slightly less-refined route runner, he is a much more explosive and faster athlete. He should immediately be a massive slot weapon at the next level, which is why I want him to go to a team that could use an elite slot receiver.
There are a lot of chronic underthrowing quarterbacks in the NFL. Jaylin Noel's ability to adjust his body and high point these will be crucial. QBs WILL throw deep shots his way because they know they can trust him even when it's underthrown. pic.twitter.com/PvXwg0ybsu
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 20, 2025
The Commanders would be a great landing spot for him ... in 2026 and moving forward from there. He'd likely have a very good first season, at least relative to expectations, but the presence of wide receivers Deebo Samuel Sr. and Terry McLaurin would limit his snaps in Year 1. McLaurin is expected to be extended, while Samuel may just be a one-year stopgap, though both are 29 years old, and McLaurin will turn 30 in September. The team needs longer-term answers at the position.
At least starting in 2026, Noel would immediately be a fantasy football WR1, with quarterback Jayden Daniels maximizing his ability to get open, make tough catches on jump balls, and after the catch. Noel is a demon with the ball in his hands, with the elusiveness and short-area quickness to put defenders on the ground and the speed to careen past them for loads of extra yards.
Jaylin Noel with a slot role is a league-winner in year 1. He's too strong, too quick, too elusive, and too fast for slot corners to cover. Good luck throwing him off his routes. Slot fade monster. pic.twitter.com/ANZjADKbXO
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 20, 2025
One of my favorite aspects of this fit was how good Daniels was with the slot fade route at LSU in 2023. He and wide receivers Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. feasted on this route on the way to his Heisman Trophy campaign that year. And he'd be getting the best slot fade route runner in the draft in Noel if the Commanders selected him.
Jayden Higgins - New England Patriots
It feels like cheating at this point to mention another WR as a great fit for the Pats, but it's hard not to at this point. While Hunter would give the Pats an elite weapon with a massive upside in route running and after the catch, and one of the twitchiest WRs in recent memory, Higgins would give them a prototypical "X" wide receiver. His combination of size, route-running ability, and strength is impressive.
Jayden Higgins is so damn good. So underrated.
-Backwards, off balance, juke move to shake DB 1
-Resets feet quickly for next move
-Shimmy shake is so quick and efficient
-Strong enough to fight through the contact for lots of extra yards
Probably wins leagues in 2025. pic.twitter.com/Fm7kMksc2S— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 19, 2025
Additionally, drafting Higgins would allow the Patriots to put Diggs in the slot more often, where he could face easier matchups against less athletic DBs while he recovers from his ACL injury. And in 2026, once he's fully recovered, he could finish his career in a majority slot role, which would be beneficial to the offense because his best days are behind him.
Higgins developed very nicely in his final season and was impressive at the Senior Bowl, so his route running and separation skills appear to have room for improvement, as good as they already are. And he's 6-foot-4 and 214 pounds, and he ran a 4.47-second 40-yard dash, which is impressive. And yes, he's my WR3, and no, it's not Tetairoa McMillan, who's inferior to Higgins in pretty much every way on film.
After revising my rookie wide receiver rankings, Jayden Higgins is my WR2, after Travis Hunter. I'll break down Higgins' elite traits in a thread. For starters, this route pacing is fantastic, and crazy for a 6'4 receiver. So explosive off the stutter. pic.twitter.com/MHos0iV5e5
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 23, 2025
Tetairoa McMillan - Los Angeles Chargers
Well, it's the Patriots again, but if the Chargers go wild and pick him over former Michigan tight end Colston Loveland, who's an infinitely better pick even at the spot they're at, McMillan would probably be able to play outside while the other side of the field and slot were manned by WR Ladd McConkey. McMillan would likely struggle here, though.
Tetairoa McMillan doesn't pace his routes very well. Is this supposed to be trickery? He has one speed when he runs his routes. Either this DB is a star (he's not) or this route just isn't good. Being 6'4" doesn't make this better. pic.twitter.com/T0CEGBPaoG
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 19, 2025
McMillan's bad tape is pretty, pretty bad. Other than on slant routes, crossers, and comeback routes, he wasn't particularly inspiring on film. Going against poor-quality pass defenses and not having much target competition helped him amass big statistics, but he's not a great athlete, and there are flaws in his game that he needs to fix.
Getting the ball in his hands on designed targets and easy slam-dunk plays in the intermediate portion of the field is the best plan for him, but for how he's been hyped, he should be an immediate elite X option on the outside. There are shades of Marvin Harrison Jr. to his game, but with poorer route running, as he has a high percentage of contested targets and doesn't have the vertical speed to win on deep routes.
To do this, I segmented receivers into groups based on CTPRR above/below 4%, and their UTPRR above/below 20%. The findings are pretty stark!
I determined hit rate based on max PPG season as well as max dynasty value vs. drafted value.
As expected, the elite target earners… pic.twitter.com/7zl49hJeWS
— Dynasty Zoltan (@DynastyZoltanFF) December 7, 2024
He's not a great separator, but he'd be an upgrade over Quentin Johnston, at least.
Tez Johnson - Jacksonville Jaguars
Johnson is massively underrated. And with an ability to play in the slot and out wide, Johnson would be the perfect complement to WR Brian Thomas Jr., who's elite out of the slot and excellent split out wide. Johnson would help draw away coverage from Thomas, too, but more importantly, with Thomas taking a team's best coverages on each snap, Johnson would have a ton of room to work.
I feel that the mental aspect of football is poorly understood. There are a million things that can go wrong every play. You want someone like Tez Johnson to not even blink. Crazy one-handed catch and IMMEDIATELY puts a move on a defender when landing. Crazy awareness. pic.twitter.com/KI8vSVzM5y
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 23, 2025
Johnson's burst, acceleration, and short-area quickness are impressive, especially when he's off balance. 40-yard dash times aren't the be-all, end-all of quickness, considering that there are many platforms, some on and some off balance, that players need to accelerate from. Johnson is also a weapon after the catch, often looking like a human joystick in the open field.
The Houston Texans' pair of Nico Collins and Tank Dell in 2023, before Dell's season-ending injury, are a nice prototype for a lethal pass-catching combo consisting of an elite, big-bodied, highly athletic WR and a much smaller yet elite separator at receiver.
Tre Harris - Los Angeles Chargers
Harris would be my WR2 were it not for his poor athleticism and high contested-target rate. That makes him a fit for the Los Angeles Chargers, who could opt to put him on the outside if they selected him with their 22nd overall pick. Harris might struggle to separate at the next level, as should McMillan, but the arm strength of quarterback Justin Herbert can help with that.
This is just textbook from Tre Harris, working in the slot against off-man, near the top of the screen.
Twitch, tempo manipulation, targeted physicality at the stem, tight route break, to the house. This stuff translates. pic.twitter.com/7ArYHeDS4V
— Ian Cummings (@IC_Draft) March 27, 2025
Harris' ability to manipulate defenders and his route-running prowess, even sans some explosiveness, would work perfectly on timing routes, which could be delivered to perfection on bullet passes by Herbert.
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