Seahawks Scheme Fits: Best ‘Big-Bodied’ Receivers in 2025 NFL Draft
Culminating an offseason that has been full of change for the Seattle Seahawks, the franchise will enter the 2025 NFL Draft holding 10 selections, including five in the first 92 picks, presenting a prime opportunity to bolster their roster with an infusion of young talent.
At the center of a major retool on offense, the Seahawks said goodbye to both DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, trading the former to the Steelers for a second-round pick and cutting the latter as a cap casualty last month. Following the departure of both players, general manager John Schneider signed ex-Rams All-Pro Cooper Kupp and veteran Marquez Valdes-Scantling in free agency to go with ascending star Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but from a long-term standpoint, adding another big-bodied receiver to replace Metcalf’s production in the present and future sits atop the team needs going into the draft.
Looking for receivers who can help offset Metcalf’s departure and present a downfield threat for opponents, which prospects in this year’s 2025 class stand out as the best fits for Kubiak’s offense? Split into first round candidates, day two candidates, and day three candidates, here are nine receivers with size and speed who represent the best potential options for the Seahawks:
First Round
Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
A lethal big play threat both as a downfield target and creating after the catch, McMillan - who also goes by T-Mac - burst onto the scene as a freshman in Tucson, averaging 18 yards per catch while posting 702 yards on just 39 receptions. Emerging as one of the most dangerous wideouts in the country in 2023, he nearly tripled his reception total with 90 catches for 1,402 yards and 10 touchdowns, and though he didn’t quite duplicate those numbers in his final season with the Wildcats, he still led the Big 12 in receiving yards and earned consensus All-American honors along with First-Team All-Big 12 recognition.
Boasting rare size at 6-4, 219 pounds, McMillan dominated opponents with his ability to toast cornerbacks on deep balls and high point the football over smaller defenders in the red zone. He also did significant damage as a ball carrier, racking up over 1,100 yards after the catch with 43 missed tackles forced in three collegiate seasons while seeing more than 20 percent of his snaps in the slot. His route running can be a bit sloppy at times and he had 85 charted contested catch opportunities, creating some questions about his ability to separate consistently at the next level at the same rate he did at Arizona. Drops became more of an issue in 2024, but he still finished with just a 5.3 percent drop rate in college. While McMillan isn’t quite the same caliber athlete as Metcalf, he presents a similar skill set as a massive downfield target and would be a great option for the Seahawks to recoup explosive plays in the vertical passing game as a first round option.
Jayden Higgins, Iowa State
Somehow slipping through the cracks and landing at FCS program Eastern Kentucky to begin his college career, Higgins scored 10 touchdowns in his sophomore season with the Colonels before entering the transfer portal, taking his overlooked talents to the Big 12 with Iowa State. It didn’t take long for him to adjust to the big jump in competition, as he finished his junior campaign with 983 receiving yards and six touchdowns while averaging more than 18 yards per catch, and he wrapped up a fantastic collegiate career with 1,185 yards and nine touchdowns to earn Second-Team All-Big 12 honors and receive a Senior Bowl invite.
Boasting elite size at 6-4, 214 pounds coupled with outstanding athletic traits, including sub-4.5 40-yard dash speed, Higgins has all of the goods to be a dynamic downfield threat at the next level, as he can create separation consistently out of his breaks and sky over smaller defenders to bring in jump balls on go routes or fades for chunk plays. He has some limitations in terms of what routes he can run with below-average change of direction skills for a wideout, but he can do damage in the short and intermediate game as a possession target who occasionally breaks a tackle to pick up extra yardage and plays tough as a blocker in the run game. He may not have quite as high of a floor coming into the league as McMillan, but there’s a chance he could hear his name called in the first 32 picks with plenty of untapped upside as a focal point X-receiver, including for the Seahawks as early as 18th overall.
Day 2 - Second/Third Round
Tre Harris, Ole Miss
Beginning his college career with a Group of 5 program, Harris didn’t play much for Louisiana Tech during a shortened 2020 season, leading to him taking a redshirt. He lit up Conference USA defenses over the next two years, however, nearly hitting 1,500 receiving yards with 14 touchdowns in 2021 and 2022. Becoming a coveted commodity, he entered the transfer portal and crossed state lines to join the Rebels, quickly becoming one of Jaxson Dart’s favorite weapons with 2,015 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns in two seasons in Oxford. He earned Third-Team All-SEC recognition as a senior and enjoyed a strong week in Mobile at the Senior Bowl.
While not the biggest receiver in this class, Harris still has plus-size at 6-2, 205 pounds to go with good 4.54 wheels, using his size/speed combination to frequently win as an over-the-top deep ball maestro. There’s some feast or famine to his game, as he averaged 17.7 yards per catch at Ole Miss while nearly catching the same number of passes traveling 20-plus yards as intermediate throws and dropping eight passes. He’s been a reliable manufacturer of yardage after the catch with plenty of broken tackles on his resume, but some teams may be concerned by the fact four of his seven touchdowns and more than a third of his total receiving yardage last year came against Furman and Georgia Southern. But with him just turning 23 years old and producing 1,000 yards in just seven games due to injury, he likely will be one of the first players off the board on day two and stands out as a viable Metcalf replacement for his propensity to create chunk plays downfield.
Jack Bech, TCU
At one point a highly touted recruit, Bech started his college career with one of the nation’s blue bloods at LSU, catching 43 passes and three touchdowns as a freshman. After seeing his numbers decline as a sophomore, he transferred to join the Horned Frogs, missing time due to injury in his first season with the program and finishing with just 12 catches for 146 yards. Back healthy, he took off as the primary weapon in TCU’s passing arsenal last season, setting career-highs with 62 receptions for 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging close to 17 yards per reception, earning Second-Team All-Big 12 honors and an invite to the Senior Bowl.
Though Bech isn’t necessarily a burner with track speed, he has underrated quickness and change of direction skills for a bigger receiver, evidenced by a lightning quick 6.84 3-cone drill time. Along with catching nine passes that traveled 20-plus yards through the air and providing an occasional downfield spark, he manufactured significant yardage after the catch on intermediate 10-19 yard throws (145), ranking sixth among FBS receivers in that department while forcing seven missed tackles. He’s a savvy route runner with outstanding hands - he dropped just four passes his entire college career - whose upside at the next level will depend on his ability to consistently get open against NFL speed. Somewhat limited production may scare some teams, but his all-around skill set will be a fine fit to develop as a No. 2 target in most offenses, including Seattle’s.
Elic Ayomanor, Stanford
Though he was born in Canada, Ayomanor attended high school in Massachusetts before committing to Stanford, taking his talents to the other side of the country. He redshirted his first season on campus and immediately emerged as the Cardinal’s top weapon in 2023, catching 62 passes for 1,013 yards and six touchdowns to receive All-Pac 12 honorable mention recognition, including lighting up Colorado with 294 yards and three touchdowns in a comeback win. He wasn’t quite able to reach his receiving yardage total in his final collegiate season, but he did surpass his career-high with 63 catches and once again caught half a dozen touchdowns to earn Second-Team All-ACC distinction before declaring early for the NFL draft.
At 6-1, 206 pounds, Ayomanor possesses all of the athletic intangibles teams covet from big downfield targets, including 4.47 speed and a 38 1/2-inch vertical jump. While a reliable receiver most of the time, he has shown a tendency to be a bit of a body catcher, contributing to six drops in each of his two seasons at Stanford, and his game speed doesn’t always match his testing speed, which led to a whopping 58 contested catch opportunities in his college career. He has demonstrated the ability to be a home run threat and high point the football over smaller corners in spurts, even taking over games at times, but he remains an unpolished prospect with a lot of room to improve before he can be a No. 1 or 2 receiver in the league. Just 21 years old, however, teams can afford to be patient with him and for the Seahawks in particular, letting him grow behind Kupp and Smith-Njigba may be the best situation to maximize his ceiling down the road.
Savion Williams, TCU
After playing sparingly in his first two seasons with the Horned Frogs, Williams hauled in 29 passes and four touchdowns to help the team advance to the National Championship game in 2022 and by his junior season, he emerged as one of the nation’s best gadget weapons. Utilized as a running back and a receiver, he produced over 600 all-purpose yards in 2023 and followed up with a fantastic final season in Fort Worth, racking up nearly 1,000 all-purpose yards and 13 touchdowns - including a passing score - while seeing extensive touches in the run and pass game.
Interestingly, Williams doesn’t have the prototypical build for a running back/receiver hybrid at 6-4, 222 pounds. He never blossomed into an elite college receiver at TCU, struggling with focus drops at times and consistently tracking the ball on deep passes. Still, he reeled in several highlight-reel worthy grabs and eclipsed 400 yards after the catch last year as well as posting a career 75 percent catch rate on contested throws, showing he has plenty of tools to build off of even if he does drop too many catchable passes at this point. He also isn’t a gimmick out of the backfield, emulating Cordarrelle Patterson as a tall, sturdy back who breaks a bunch of tackles. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has always valued versatile playmakers who can be moved around the formation, making apparent interest in Williams by the Seahawks anything but surprising.
Day 3 - Fourth-Seventh Round
Pat Bryant, Illinois
Excelling in spite of playing in a run-heavy offensive scheme for the Fighting Illini that hasn’t exactly been ideal for receivers to stand out amongst their peers, Bryant emerged as one of the Big Ten's breakout stars in 2024. Surpassing the century mark for the first time, the 6-3, 190-pound playmaker consistently blew by opponents as a vertical threat, averaging a hair over 18 yards per reception and tying for fifth in the FBS division with six touchdown receptions on passes traveling 20-plus yards through the air. In addition, he produced close to 400 yards after the catch, proving to be more than just a deep ball specialist.
Few players improved their stock as NFL prospects more than Bryant did this past season, as he only dropped one pass after having nine drops in his previous two seasons and put himself on the map as an elite downfield threat who made marked improvements tracking the football into his hands. Despite a relatively lean build, he also proved himself capable of breaking arm tackles to pick up extra chunks of yardage. He had a high percentage of his receptions come on contested throws, however, and running the 40-yard dash in 4.61 seconds didn’t do him any favors silencing critics who question if he can consistently win against NFL cornerbacks without even average long speed. Still, as a day three candidate, the production speaks for itself and on an affordable rookie deal, he could immediately vie for snaps as a rotational receiver in Seattle.
Nick Nash, San Jose State
Recruited by the Spartans as a quarterback, Nash stayed at his native position for his first three seasons on campus, including throwing six touchdowns as redshirt sophomore in 2021. Transitioning to receiver the following season, he only caught six passes in 2022, but he improved rapidly with another offseason of training and by his senior season, he transformed into one of the country’s most lethal weapons on the outside with 1,382 receiving yards and 16 touchdown receptions to earn All-American honors. Possessing good size at 6-3, 195 pounds with an outstanding catch radius and the speed to inflict damage on opposing defenses both as a deep threat and after the catch, he led the nation with 10 touchdown catches traveling 20-plus yards and tied for third with 29 forced missed tackles.
Drops have been a bit of a bugaboo for Nash during his three seasons as a receiver, including failing to snag six catchable passes last season, not a surprising development considering it is not his original position. He also had a pair of fumbles, so ball security in general will be an area he has to improve upon in the pros. But even without 4.4 speed, he has enough burst coupled with football IQ and his ability to produce from the slot and outside to make him an ideal player to take a day three flier on as a potential early replacement for Marquez Valdes-Scantling who can win downfield and also do damage with the ball in his hands. Klint Kubiak also would have an opportunity to mix in some trickery with the former mobile quarterback in his arsenal.
Isaac TeSlaa, Arkansas
Lightly recruited out of high school, TeSlaa followed in his father’s footsteps by enrolling at Hillsdale College, winning All-Midwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors in 2022. In the aftermath of his success at a lower level, he entered the transfer portal and signed with Arkansas, where he finished with modest production in two seasons with the program, catching 62 passes for 883 yards and five touchdowns. Despite a somewhat limited target share in the Razorbacks’ offense, he averaged 19 yards per catch in 2024, ranking 24th in the nation among qualified wideouts.
Unlike most of the receivers who made this list, TeSlaa cut his teeth both at Hillsdale and Arkansas as an uncharacteristic 6-4, 214-pound slot receiver, spending nearly 80 percent of his time there in his last season with the Razorbacks. Extremely efficient as a downfield target, he caught seven of nine targets on throws of 20 or more yards, averaging 39 yards per reception on those plays. He didn’t have a single drop in two seasons against SEC competition, but getting open in the short-to-intermediate game was a struggle for him, which may present a significant obstacle to earning significant slot snaps in the NFL. Playing more on the boundary may be necessary for him to succeed at the next level, but if his athleticism can better translate to unlocking from coverage early in routes, he has a shot to develop into a quality starter as a day three selection.
