Tetairoa McMillan is Exactly what the Panthers Needed

The Carolina Panthers selected Arizona receiver Tetairoa McMillan with the eighth pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. McMillan will provide some much-needed firepower to the Panthers offense as they head into a prove-it season for quarterback Bryce Young. Here’s an early look at McMillan’s fantasy football value on the Panthers this season.

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Tetairoa McMillan’s Profile

A lot of receiver prospects get drafted solely based on their physical traits or just one year of production in college, but McMillan is not one of them. At Arizona, McMillan racked up 3,423 yards and 26 touchdowns in three seasons, earning All-American honors in his true junior year. Standing at 6’4”, 219 pounds, he is a prototypical X-receiver who is elite at the catchpoint and in space. In 2024, McMillan ranked 10th among all players in yards per route run and third among receivers in missed tackles forced.

The main concern with McMillan is that he lacks the A-plus level speed and explosiveness needed to be a great route runner in the NFL. As a result, McMillan’s scouting reports were all over the place this off-season. The consensus big board had him ranked 10th among all prospects, but draft experts like Todd McShay ranked him as low as 50th. McMillan also had some character questions after he claimed not to watch tape in an interview. Ultimately, I trust that McMillan’s consistent production in college will translate to the NFL, and he has the ceiling to be a game-changing big playmaker like Mike Evans or Tee Higgins.

McMillan in the Panthers Offense

One of the most fun stories of last season was Bryce Young’s career-saving development. He was benched after two awful starts to start the year, and subsequently outplayed by veteran Andy Dalton. Seemingly out of nowhere, after Dalton got injured, Young came back and looked like a completely different player. From Week 10 on, Young ranked 17th among quarterbacks in EPA per dropback, 14th in completion percentage over expectation, with a 17-game pace of 3,577 yards and 26 touchdowns. Those numbers might not jump off the page, but considering how bad Young looked through his first 16 starts, they are incredibly encouraging and warrant giving him another season as the starter.

This is all to say that drafting McMillan will be absolutely vital for Young’s development. Sure, the Panthers were the league’s worst defense last year, but they would be foolish not to invest every resource possible to find out if Young is truly the quarterback of their future. McMillan will immediately be the No. 1 option in this receiving room and should receive plenty of targets over Adam Thielen, Xavier Legette, and Jalen Coker. The Panthers have done a good job of shoring up their offensive line in the last few years, and head coach Dave Canales helped turn around the careers of Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield. So, the Panthers certainly have a promising offensive ceiling, and McMillan should only help them reach that.

Projecting McMillan’s Fantasy Value

As you might expect, McMillan’s fantasy football value this season will be closely tied to Bryce Young’s play. If Young can continue his upward trajectory and establish himself as a top-15 quarterback, the Panthers offensive upside would be high enough to support McMillan as a legitimate WR1. However, that isn’t to say McMillan is completely dependent on Young being great. Just last year, we saw rookie receivers Brian Thomas Jr. and Malik Nabers put together excellent seasons despite shoddy quarterback play.

Based on volume alone, McMillan should maintain a high enough fantasy football floor to be a high-end WR3. His Underdog ADP right now is 50th overall as the WR27, which could be a potential value. I have written before about the siren song of the “exciting WR2 on a good offense”, and my first reaction would be to draft McMillan over guys like Xavier Worthy, Rome Odunze, or Jordan Addison. Almost every top-10 receiver pick since 2018 has put together a decent rookie season, with Odunze being the only player not to have at least 800 yards in his first year. Your faith in Bryce Young will dictate how high you think McMillan can finish, but I am confident that he will return value on being a top-50 pick in your fantasy draft.

The Bottom Line

• Tetairoa McMillan had an illustrious college career at Arizona and is a promising prospect with the potential to be one of the premier X-receivers in the NFL.
• McMillan is a perfect fit in the Panthers offense, and will give them some much-needed talent at the receiver position.
• While McMillan’s ceiling will likely be dictated by Bryce Young’s development, he should see more than enough volume to be a reliable WR3 at worst. He is definitely worth drafting at his current ADP of 50th overall.