As NFL Draft season ramps up, we’re analyzing the Las Vegas Raiders’ available options with the #6 and #37 overall picks at each position group, based on the industry’s leading mock drafts — specifically those at ESPN, Pro Football Focus, The Athletic, and The Ringer. After kicking things off with quarterback and running backs, today we’re rounding out the skill positions with a look at the draft’s top pass catchers.
There’s decent depth at the very top of this group, but the distribution of that talent leaves the Silver and Black in a similar position as with running back. While there are four top-half-of-the-first-round talents, Colorado’s Travis Hunter will almost certainly not last until #6, and, unfortunately for the Raiders, two of the other three are tight ends.
The 2024 Raiders Passing Game: Searching for a Spark
The Raiders’ passing game outpaced their bottom-five rushing attack, with top-20 marks in net passing yards (3,797; 13th), completion percentage (64.6%;17th), and 50 pass plays of 20+ yards — halfway between the league-best 49ers (66) and last-placed Giants and Patriots (34). This relative efficiency was almost entirely thanks to two individuals: wide receiver Jakobi Meyers and All-Pro rookie tight end Brock Bowers.
Meyers capitalized on his 129 targets, hauling in 87 catches and 1,027 yards (all career-highs), with 4 touchdowns. And while his 67.4% catch rate didn’t turn heads, dropping just one pass all season (0.8% drop rate) is outstanding.
Bowers, meanwhile, was a revelation. The #11 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft turned in not just the best rookie campaign ever for a tight end, but one of the best in the history of the position. His 112 catches left him four shy of Zach Ertz’s 2018 record, while his 1,194 receiving yards were the 16th-most in a season for a tight end, 222 yards behind Travis Kelce’s 2020 record.
Despite these efforts, however, the passing game left plenty to be desired — namely, big plays. Raiders QBs threw just 19 TD passes, with bottom-five marks in net yards per attempt (5.5) and 40+-yard pass plays (4). Certainly, some of this could be mitigated with better quarterback play. However, whoever winds up lining up under center would benefit from a greater array of top-quality targets.
2025 NFL Draft: Top of the Pass Catching Class
Before highlighting the draft’s standout wide receiver, it’s worth discussing the duo atop the tight end class.
Penn State’s Tyler Warren and Michigan’s Colston Loveland headline what profiles as an excellent tight end class. The Atheltic’s Dane Brugler has both in the top-11 on his big board, with Warren’s “light feet, fluid body movements, and natural balance” slotting him one spot ahead of Loveland. It is worth noting that he refers to Loveland as having “the most upside of any pass catcher in this draft class.”
However, for as much fun as it is to imagine a tight end pairing for the ages with Bowers, this offense has far more pressing needs, including wide receiver. As luck would have it, they’ve got a great shot at landing the best of the bunch.
Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona (Junior)
If the Raiders stand pat and select a skill player, McMillan is an ideal option. At 6’5” and 210 pounds, he offers a rare combination of length, strength, smooth agility, strong hands, and intelligence.
The Ringer calls him “a three-level playmaker with top-end production.” ESPN’s Yates notes that he “runs clean routes and has an incredible catch radius.” Brugler, meanwhile, who has McMillan #7 on his big board, marvels at how McMillan “shines at the catch point. He uses Gumby-like body adjustments to frame the football with his hands, regardless of the placement.” And The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner notes, correctly, that, “Arizona hardly faced a top-end schedule, but it’s impossible not to see McMillan’s dominance — and immense potential — on tape:
And McMillan’s production is on par with his tools. After leading the PAC-12 in yards per reception (18.9 on 39 catches) as a freshman, over his last two incredibly consistent seasons, he averaged 87 catches, 1,360 yards, and 9 touchdowns. Per Pro Football Focus, he’s received grades above 85.0 each of the past two seasons and, in 2024, posted an excellent 2.87 yards per route run and was among the nation’s best against man coverage.
According to The Ringer, he does “get caught grappling too much at his release and… thrown off his route” and “does not have elite short-area burst to create instant separation.” But everything McMillan does bring to the table makes him a potentially foundational piece for a rebuilding offense.
Unless McMillan is Vegas-bound early in the first round, a dynamic outside receiver will remain a priority. Unfortunately for the Raiders, not only is this year’s receiver class light on surefire gamechangers, suggesting the Raiders would be better served moving early for McMillan and taking their chances on a Day 2 running back. In fact, only a couple of receivers figure to be a) available and b) not a major reach when pick #37 rolls around.
Before we get to them, it’s worth highlighting an excellent slot-first talents who could come into play should the Raiders, rather than trading up for a quarterback, trade back into the late-teen or 20s,
Luther Burden III, Missouri (Junior)
Had Burden been in last year’s draft on the heels of his breakout All-America sophomore season during which his explosiveness drew comparisons to Deebo Samuel, he’d have been a virtual lock for the top half of the first round, and maybe the top ten.
That Burden’s disappointing 2024 season — in which his reception tally fell from 86 to 61 and his yardage fell from 1,212 to 676 — has only dropped him into the early 20s speaks to his game-breaking explosiveness. Both Baumgardner and Brugler attribute much of the dropoff to Missouri’s poor QB and overall offensive play. Brugler notes that Burden showed “enough flashes to tease his high-level talent” — as evidenced by an FBS-best 30 missed tackles forced — while Baumbardner calls him “a unique weapon who should only help himself at the combine.”
According to PFF, Burden played over 80% of his snaps out of the slot the past two seasons, allowing for (per Brugler) “a high-volume of quick hitters and crossers” that showcased his ability to run after the catch along with his “his any-direction burst and physicality.”
It is worth noting, however — as Kelly does at The Ringer — that Burden sometimes “lacks strength at the catch point” and “needs to do a better job of playing through contact.”
GettyMatthew Golden of the Texas Longhorns
Tier 2 Pass Catchers: Talented, But Slim Pickings
Beyond Burden is a pair of physically and stylistically distinct receivers, each with big’play ability that would deliver a much’needed spark to the Raiders aerial attackÑ
Matthew Golden, Texas (Junior)
Golden started his college career with a pair of solid seasons in Houston’s Air Raid (76 catches, 988 yards, 13 TDs in total) before joining the Longhorns. Once in Austin, he exploded for 58 catches, team-highs of 987 yards and 17 yards per reception (minimum 10 receptions), and an SEC-best 9 TDs.
A 6-foot, 200-pounder who could run a 4.3-second 40-yard dash at the combine, Brugler notes that Golden (#27 on his big board) is “fluid in his releases and breaks, he shows a plan as a route runner, and I love his ability to break down corners by keeping his eyes, hips and feet in sync.”
Jayden Higgins, Iowa State (Senior)
Like Golden, the more physically-impsoing (6’4”-217) Higgins transferred (from Eastern Kentucky) two years into his college career. Higgins was excellent in his final two seasons with the Cyclones, with averages of 70 catches, 1,083 yards, 15.5 yards per catch, and 7.5 TDs — and just three total drops!
Brugler, who’s got Higgins #48 on his big board, is effusive in his praise, saying, “With the body control and grace of a former point guard (whcih he is), Higgins has the smooth athleticism that translates to his route running. He’s also a natural tracking and adjusting to the football, regardless of the placement or coverage.”
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