Tetairoa McMillan
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Tetairoa McMillan will look to build off of huge rookie season for Carolina.
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan is fresh off of an impressive season that ultimately garnered him Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. Taken in the first round of last year’s NFL Draft, McMillan has already shown that the Panthers made the right choice after finishing the season with 70 catches, 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns. But while hisraw numbers are great, the impact of his catches is even more incredible.
According to NFL researcher Tony Holzman-Escareno, in 2025, 78.5 percent of McMillan’s catches went for either a first down or a touchdown, good enough for second in the entire league, behind only future Hall of Famer Davonte Adams. It’s about as clutch as a player can be, and McMillan was doing it all as a rookie.
NFL Researcher
Highest percentage of receptions for 1st down or TD in 2025…
1. Davante Adams – 85.0% 2. Tetairoa McMillan – 78.6% 3. George Pickens – 78.5% 4. Jameson Williams – 75.4% 5. Jaylen Waddle – 75.0% 6. Romeo Doubs – 74.5% 7. Courtland Sutton – 70.3% 8. Hunter Henry – 70.0% 9. Tee
Tetairoa McMillan Has Fans Believing After Monster Rookie Season
It’s an impressive stat line regardless, but to do it as a rookie is even more amazing. All nine of the other players to make the top-10 were NFL veterans, including the 11-year vet Adams who topped the list. McMillan also accounted for 30.7 percent of his team’s receiving yards–the sixth-highest rate in the NFL.
As a rookie, McMillan became the go-to receiver for Bryce Young and Carolina. He had nearly double the number of targets as the next closest pass-catcher on the team, and no other Panthers receiver had more than 400 yards. McMillan was the guy in Carolina, and despite the Panthers struggles on offense in general, still managed to stick near the top of the league in moving the chains.
As promising as his rookie season was though, McMillan could still be getting even better in Year 2. And with Young still just 24 years old himself, there’s a lot of reason to believe both could beascending together in 2026.
Can the Carolina Offense Take a Step up in 2026?
While McMillan greatly improved the Panthers passing attack in his first year, Carolina still had just the 27th ranked offense in the league. There needs to be some huge improvement made in 2026, so could another pass catcher be in store for head coach Dave Canales at No. 19 in the NFL Draft?
“It’s like, who can impact our team at that level?” Canales said at the league’s annual meeting. “It could be a wideout. It could be a tight end. Could be a safety. There’s a couple of dynamic safeties that could free us up. The pass-rush class, we’ve got to still kind of see where they are at the top.”
Despite taking McMillan eighth overall in 2025 and Xavier Legette at the end of the first round in 2024, the Panthers could still consider getting Bryce Young some help. Jalen Coker had a strong season with 33 catches and 394 yards in just 11 games, but if Carolina wants to take some of the heat off of McMillan, adding another weapon on offense might be the way to go.
Either way, it’s clear that McMillan is one of the bright, young stars in the league on a team that desperately needs some star power.