PRO 2025 Rookie Spotlight: Xavier Restrepo, WR Miami
Rookie Spotlight: Xavier Restrepo, WR Miami
Height: 5-11 (unofficial)
Weight: 198 (unofficial)
Hands:
Weight: 198 (unofficial)
Hands:
Arm:
40 yard dash: 4.53 (projected)
2025 Age: 23 (4/22/02)
NFL Comparison: Wes Welker, Roman Wilson, Braxton Berrios, Anthony Gonzalez
40 yard dash: 4.53 (projected)
2025 Age: 23 (4/22/02)
NFL Comparison: Wes Welker, Roman Wilson, Braxton Berrios, Anthony Gonzalez
Other RW Staff Comps: James Proche, Sterling Shepard
Breakout Age: 21 (SR)
Offensive Market Share Metrics (Final Season)
Receptions: 22%
Receiving Yards: 27%
Receiving TDs: 29%
Total Production Percentage: 26%
Receptions: 22%
Receiving Yards: 27%
Receiving TDs: 29%
Total Production Percentage: 26%
As a high school prospect: Class of 2020; 4-star
Honors
– 2024 consensus First-Team All-American
– First-Team All-ACC (2023 and 2024)
– 2024 Biletnikoff Semi-Finalist
– Miami All-Time leader in receptions (200), receiving yards (2844) and TDs (21)
Pros
– A competitor and a dog who is simply very good at the game of football
– Uber-productive and scrappy slot man with super-glue hands
– Rare ability to sink hips and explode into cuts
– Very effective on choice routes when given a two-way go
– Generally just a dynamite route-runner with lots of separation tricks
– Dependable and clutch in gotta-have-it moments
– As effective versus man coverage as he is against zone coverage
– Not a dominant run blocker, but an aggressive and willing one
– Was the alpha WR in an offense featuring two other 2024 NFL prospects in Sam Brown and Jacolby George as well as Isaiah Horton who entered the transfer portal after the 2024 season, but will eventually be on NFL radars
Cons
– Obviously not the biggest guy even though he plays tough
– Played almost entirely in the slot for the last two seasons (92% and 94% of snaps respectively)
– Adequate straight-line speed, but overall more quick than fast
– Haven’t seen him deployed as much of a deep threat yet
Fantasy Outlook: It is impossible to ignore the fact that Restrepo is the all-time receiving stats leader at the same university that gave us Andre Johnson, Michael Irvin, Reggie Wayne, Santana Moss and many more. He is a different kind of player than those guys, though. Restrepo does two things extremely well: getting open and catching the football. He only dropped 2 balls on 95 targets in 2024 and his QB had a 141.9 passer rating on those targets, good for 8th best among all college receivers. Restrepo’s tenacity on the football field is palpable, and he is an advantageous playmaker despite some evident limitations in straight-line speed, with his longest reception in 2024 going for 77 yards, but his real superpower is in gotta-have-it moments for his team and QB Cam Ward. 53 of Restrepo’s 69 receptions in 2024 went for first downs, the 8th most overall in the sport. All this despite a very well-rounded and talented surrounding cast.
For dynasty leagues, much will — as always — depend on landing spot and draft capital. Restrepo looks to be a Day 2 pick at this point, and in the right situation could quickly become a PPR slot machine at the NFL level. I can’t wait to see him at the Senior Bowl, as he’s the type of guy that can look really good in one-on-ones which could elevate his profile. For now, we’d consider Restrepo in the later second round of traditional 1QB, 12-team rookie drafts with room for movement as the draft season progresses.
