Richmond draftee Taj Hotton has earned his AFL debut, being called up to the senior side to face off against Essendon on Saturday night.

The 18-year-old, who has overcome the ACL injury he suffered last year, will pull on the yellow and black at the MCG in Round 18.

It follows promising performances in his three VFL outings, headlined by his 24 disposals and one goal against the Cats last weekend.

In Round 14 of the VFL, Hotton had 25 touches and kicked a goal against the Bullants, while he collected 14 disposals under managed minutes the week before against the Dogs.

The classy midfielder/forward has continued to throw himself into every challenge during his short time at the Swinburne Centre.

Richmond selected the promising teenager with pick 12 in the 2024 National Draft, with the youngster showing tremendous upside during his rehabilitation.

He travelled with the ACL recovery group to Samoa in the pre-season, taking part in Mykelti Lefau's homecoming.

Hotton has shown his skills for Sandringham Dragons, the AFL National Academy team and Haileybury College.

Taj is the son of former Collingwood and Carlton player Trent and brother of Olli, who spent time on St Kilda’s list.

He becomes the ninth Richmond debutant in 2025, following Sam Lalor, Harry Armstrong, Luke Trainor, Tom Sims, Jonty Faull and Jasper Alger from his draft class, as well as Liam Fawcett and Campbell Gray.