With the 2025 NFL Draft on the horizon, 32 NFL fanbases are eagerly anticipating their teams adding a fresh group of potential stars to their rosters. The Los Angeles Chargers fans are no different, and the latest PFSN Seven-Round Mock Draft should amp up that excitement even further.
Los Angeles Chargers Slated To Draft Tetairoa McMillan
The Chargers have had mixed results taking wide receivers in the early rounds of recent drafts. Quentin Johnston was tipped to replace Keenan Allen as a big-bodied alpha receiver after Allen was traded to the Chicago Bears ahead of the 2024 draft.
Two seasons into his Chargers career, though, Johnson has unquestionably failed to deliver on the big stage, with countless drops plaguing his time in LA.
However, the team did a far better job in 2024, trading up three spots to take Ladd McConkey with the 34th overall pick. In his rookie season, McConkey caught 82 regular-season passes, which ranked 19th overall, tied with Terry McLaurin. He turned those 82 receptions into 1149 receiving yards, ranking 10th overall in that category.
But if Joe DeLeone’s mock draft is anything to go by, the Chargers aren’t stopping there. With the 22nd pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, DeLeone predicts that the Chargers will take Tetairoa McMillan from Arizona.
“Ladd McConkey was electric in his rookie season, but Quentin Johnston hasn’t even scratched the surface of what he was supposed to develop into. With no ties to the current front office and coaching staff, finding his replacement could be an early focus for the Chargers. Tetairoa McMillan’s contested catch dominance combined with McConkey’s slot elusiveness would make for a quality receiving core.”
Do the Chargers Need Receiving Help?
Despite McConkey’s rookie-season heroics, the team crashed out in the first round of the playoffs with a 32-12 loss to the Houston Texans. Jim Harbaugh’s first season in LA should be considered a massive success, leading the team to 11 wins after taking over following a disastrous 5-12 record in 2023. But the fact remains that the Chargers haven’t made the AFC Championship game since 2007 and the Super Bowl since 1994.
Quentin Johnston had a -1.88 EPA per Target vs. the Texans 📉
That is the 3rd worst EPA per Target for any WR in a playoff game this century that saw 5+ Targets
Johnston's performance ranks 940th out of 942 https://t.co/0Av9rDAxk0 pic.twitter.com/48oRaK5jFZ
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) January 14, 2025
If Harbaugh wants his team to compete for Super Bowls, it will first have to compete with the best teams in the AFC. Cincinnati has Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins (pending contract talks), Kansas City has Xavier Worthy, Rashee Rice, and Travis Kelce, and Baltimore has Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews, and Isaiah Likely. If Quentin Johnston can’t make a huge leap in year three, the Chargers won’t have the firepower to out-gun their AFC rivals.
That’s where McMillan would help dramatically. According to his scouting report, McMillan stands 6’5″ and weighs 212 pounds. The Arizona product has a background in high school basketball, which, along with his size, helps him dominate at the catch point.
MORE: Simulate the NFL Offseason With PFSN’s Offseason Manager
McMillan broke Arizona’s true-freshman receiving record with 702 receiving yards in his first year. He followed that up with increased production in his sophomore and junior years to become one of the top receivers in the 2025 class.
McMillan could very easily go much higher in the draft in April, so the Chargers would be foolish to pass on him if he fell to pick 22. The combination of McConkey and McMillan would be a nightmare for opposing defenses and would likely propel the team into AFC Title contention.
