Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst admitted his team has “spent a lot of time” with Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan ahead of the 2025 NFL draft.
McMillan is the No. 11 overall player on the consensus big board but has a chance to fall into range on Thursday night for the Packers, who hold the No. 23 overall pick in the first round. Gutekunst attended McMillan’s private workout, and the Packers hosted McMillan for an official pre-draft visit this month.
Could all the time spent together mean something for later this week?
“He’s a third-year junior coming out, so we’ve spent a lot of time with him. It’s been good,” Gutekunst said Monday in his pre-draft presser.
The Packers get 30 pre-draft visits, so they’ve spent extra time with plenty of prospects. McMillan is especially interesting given his status as a top-15 player and the top receiver — outside Travis Hunter — in the class. Green Bay picks in the second half of the first round but will be hoping a slam dunk first-round prospect is available, and receiver is a clear roster need.
It’s hard to imagine the Packers passing on McMillan — a college teammate of Jordan Morgan — if he falls into range.
An impact player right away at the college level, McMillan dominated during all three of his seasons at Arizona — catching 39 passes for 702 yards (leading all freshmen) and eight touchdowns as a true freshman and then producing back-to-back All-American seasons in 2023 (90 catches, 1,402 yards, 10 touchdowns) and 2024 (84 catches, 1,319 yards, eight touchdowns). He is 6-4, with a big catch radius, excellent ball skills, ability to make people miss after the catch and attractive durability and availability.
According to PFF, McMillan made 18 contested catches, 12 catches on passes over 20 yards in the air, forced 29 missed tackles and was effective both outside and in the slot (26 catches for 452 yards) during the 2024 season.
McMillan — who didn’t miss a game in college — would give the Packers a versatile and physical “X” receiver who can win to all parts of the field and succeed both after the catch and in the red zone. He is the type of reliable ball-winner the Packers currently lack in an otherwise young and talented receiver room.
It’s difficult to judge true “interest” from teams in a player before a draft. But the Packers have certainly done their homework on one of the draft’s top offensive players. If McMillan is on the board at No. 23 or drops into reasonable range of a trade up, the Packers won’t have to make any guesses about the player. Their evaluation profile on McMillan should be complete ahead of Thursday night.