The New England Patriots are revamping the team with new head coach Mike Vrabel and the focus is now shifting to the offense with the NFL Draft being just around the corner.
In the last few weeks, the Patriots have held Top 30 Visits with 15 players. Out of the 15, however, only three were wide receivers: KeAndre Lambert-Smith (Auburn), Kyle Williams (Washington State), and Jaylin Noel (Iowa State).
Now, on a pre-draft visit, the Patriots are bringing in the top wide receiver in the draft, Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan, first reported by Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2.
McMillan (6-foot-4, 219 lbs) spent three years at Arizona and became their most accomplished wide receiver in school history. He finished back-to-back seasons of over 1,000 receiving yards with 1,402 in 2023 and 1,319 in 2024 (led conference).
He scored at least eight touchdowns in each of his three seasons: 8 (2022), 10 (2023), 8 (2024). He also averaged over 15.5 yards per reception in all three years as well: 18.0 (2022), 15.6 (2023), 15.7 (2024).
McMillan finished his career with 214 receptions for 3,423 yards (92.5 yards per game) and scored 26 touchdowns in 37 total games.
It leads me to wonder why the Patriots didn’t bring McMillan in for a Top 30 Visit but were quick to be part of the shortlist of teams he’s agreed to go to for a pre-draft visit.
With Josh McDaniels back as offensive coordinator, Vrabel knows that he can trust his evaluations and judgments on how an offensive skill position player will help the team or not.
That said, I believe McDaniels influenced Vrabel to allow him to have McMillan in for a pre-draft visit to evaluate him for two reasons: how can he help the team and how does he compare to the other three wide receivers that were tested on Top 30 Visits?
There’s something to be said about pairing a young quarterback and a young wide receiver together for them to develop in a system alongside each other. I feel that's what McDaniels is going for with this.
It's worth noting that McMillan is only doing pre-draft visits with four teams in the top 12 of the Draft with New England (No. 4), Carolina Panthers (No. 8), New Orleans Saints (No. 9), and the Dallas Cowboys (No. 12).
The truth is, McMillan could land on any team in the Top 10. He’s going to be a first-round draft selection and deserves to be. NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper has him falling to the Denver Broncos 20th overall in his latest mock draft.
If McDaniels is influencing Vrabel to lean towards drafting McMillan, there are really only two ways for it to happen: draft him at No. 4 or trade back up into the first round to draft him.
In my original plan, I explained the importance of why the Pats should draft offensive tackle Will Campbell fourth overall and I’m still standing by that. So, for this plan to work, New England would have to trade back up to draft McMillan.
Although McMillan would be a great addition to the team, the need to solidify offensive tackle is greater than it is at wide receiver right now. Vrabel wants to protect Maye, he knows it’s important, and it starts with getting him an offensive tackle.
It’ll be intriguing to see how Vrabel and the Patriots navigate the draft. I believe Vrabel will make a bold move to get back into the first round after drafting a tackle (Campbell) fourth overall. If he does, it’ll be for an offensive weapon, perhaps McMillan or even tight end Tyler Warren, as I believe that’s a position worth preparing for the future of.
One last note on the Draft, the first three teams on the board- Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, and New York Giants- are all being linked to drafting a quarterback or defensive player. So it’s projected that McMillan will be available to the Patriots when they're on the clock fourth overall.
It’s worth mentioning that during the first part of the Patriots’ double-dynasty when Vrabel played a key role on the defense, McDaniels was a defensive coach during those Super Bowl runs. He started in personnel and transitioned to a defensive assistant before being named the defensive backs coach.
I say this as a reminder that Vrabel and McDaniels go way back, so far back, that McDaniels was a coach on the team when Vrabel was still playing. I feel that Vrabel has strong trust in McDaniels’ and believes his judgment.
If McDaniels wants to get back into the first round to draft a wide receiver, I think Vrabel will try to accommodate him.