If it was up to Joe Burrow, the Cincinnati Bengals would re-sign soon-to-be free agent Tee Higgins to a big contract to keep his offense intact. That’s the optimistic vision.
The realistic vision is that Higgins is set to make big money and the Bengals may not be able to afford to keep the trio of Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Higgins together, especially if locking up Chase long-term is within in their future goals. Therefore, it is likely, Burrow and company will need to focus energy of replacing Higgins rather than hopes of keeping him around.
While there will be cheaper options in free agency, the 2025 NFL Draft will have interesting talent to pair with Burrow and Chase. Selecting at No. 17, the Bengals should be in the range of top wide receiver prospects like Missouri’s Luther Burden III, Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka or Texas standout Matthew Golden, but what if the top star entering the draft was to slide right into the hands of a quarterback like Burrow?
What is Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan was there for the taking?
2025 NFL Mock Draft: NFL.com’s Cynthia Frelund has Bengals selecting top wideout
The great thing about NFL Mock drafts is that there are no guarantees, especially at the top of the draft. Sometimes individual team needs can cause great talent to slip a bit in the draft. That is the scenario in Cynthia Frelund’s first NFL Mock Draft which sees the first receiver coming off the board at No. 17.
Frelund writes:
“Unfortunately for Bengals fans, in this mock scenario, Tee Higgins has already departed to a different city in free agency. So Cincinnati selects a big-bodied receiver with contested-catch ability to pair with Ja'Marr Chase on the outside. Despite his large frame (6-5, 212), McMillan has a similar body-control rating as wideouts who are much smaller and more compact. He could be very productive in this offense.”
It is hard to see McMillan not going in the top 10, especially with wide receiver hungry teams like the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints selecting but depending on where Higgins and other top wide receiver free agents sign prior to the draft, there is a possibility those teams address needs at receiver and focus their attention on other areas of need. That could give the Bengals a perfect opportunity to replace Higgins with a player who could make the offense more dangerous.
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As a big-bodied receiver with elite route running skills and a tremendous catch radius, pairing him with Chase givens Burrow a new dynamic as a field general. While he’s not that much bigger than Higgins, it is that catch radius and physicality that could help him win matchups while teams focus in on containing Chase. As a cheaper option with huge upside, the Burrow and the Bengals could end up with the best consolation prize ever in selecting McMillan.
NFL Mocks has Bengals selecting Emeka Egbuka
A more realistic selection would be Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka as NFL Mocks has McMillan going No. 6 to the Tennessee Titans (via a trade down). Like McMillan, Egbuka has great ability to create yards after the catch and is a player accustomed to the WR2 role. While there is a possibility McMillan could slide, it doesn’t seem feasible he’d slide all the way to No. 17 unless he has a less than satisfactory performance at the NFL Combine.